Turn Back the Pendulum
by kamuinoyume
Summary: Voldemort won the war. The only solution left for those that are still fighting is to go back in time to Tom Riddle's era and try to change him. Join Harry, Hermione, Draco, Sirius, Luna, George, Tonks, Hannah and Minerva in their adventures in 1938.
1. Chapter 00: The Past

**Summary**: In a world were Voldemort has won the war. The only solution left for those who are still fighting is to go back in time to Tom Riddle's era and try to change him. Join Harry, Hermione, Draco, Sirius, Luna, George, Tonks, Hannah and Minerva in their adventures in 1938.

**Disclaimer**: If I were JK Rowling, you wouldn't see me posting stories on FFN, and I'd definitely have less grammar mistakes.

**Possible parings**: Harry/Hermione, Draco/Luna, Minerva/Sirius/Hannah/Tom, George/Tonks (We'll see as the story progresses)

**Author note**: I was too lazy to make these into chapters so I'm giving you a short summary on what's different between the AU world and the Canon.

**Chapter 0: The past**

**Order of the Phoenix**:

Ron is the one who died instead of Sirius at the Department of Mysteries. He is not ambushed by a pair of brains in a jar, Neville is. Ron takes the place of Neville and he rescues Harry from a stray killing curse (shot by Avery), and falls into the veil. Sirius is saved by Lupin, who stuns Bellatrix, and she gets captured together with all the other Death Eaters, including Petter Pettigrew. Voldemort escapes alone. Sirius's name is cleared and he becomes Harry's legal guardian.

**Half-Blood Prince:**

Dumbledore and Harry's trip to visit Slughorn never happened. Slughorn came to Dumbledore for help, and offered him the memory willingly. Bill and Fleur are not engaged. Harry is depressed over Ron's death and so doesn't take notice of Draco's journey to Nocturne Alley. He refuses to go to Slughorn's meeting on the train. He doesn't keep the Half Blood Prince's book, once he obtains a new one. Neville takes Ron's place in the trio's group along the year. Harry doesn't have his confrontation with Draco in Myrtle's bathroom. Having lived and found the locket in Regulus's room the last summer, Harry realizes the locket is a fake. Dumbledore never drank the potion, but is still killed by Snape.

**Deathly Hallows**:

Bill announces his engagement with Fleur, which Mrs. Weasley reluctantly accepts. Moody isn't killed by Voldemort since Harry is already living with Sirius. Voldemort takes control of the Ministry of Magic. Sirius and Moody, take charge of the Order. Harry, Hermione and Neville, set of to find the Horcruxes. Luna, Ginny and Draco (whose mother was killed by Voldemort because she was defiant) reestablish the DA at Hogwarts. Harry and Neville retrieve Gryffindor's sword from the lake and destroy the locket. Meanwhile Ginny, Luna and Draco are discovered by the Carrow brothers, who kill Ginny; they spare Luna because her father swore allegiance to Voldemort, but send her and Draco to Azkaban and Lucius is executed. The trio are caught while at the Lovegood's residence and Neville is tortured to insanity by Yaxley. Hermione would have suffered the same fate at the hands of Bellatrix had it not been for Dobby, who takes Harry and Hermione to nr 12 Grimmauld Place (losing his life in the process). Sirius tells them about the taboo on Voldemort's name and that Lupin and Moody were captured and sent to Azkaban because of it. The Order is preparing a rescue mission for those in Azkaban and Harry and Hermione decide to join them. After breaking into Azkaban they find out Remus has received the Dementor's Kiss. They rescue Moody, Luna and Draco, and Fred is killed by McNair. Harry is almost captured by Nott Sr., but Snape kills him and escapes with Harry. They arrive at nr 12 Grimmauld Place, but Harry say's Voldemort's name, while questioning Snape and the Snatchers ambush the place. They are forced to flee at Hogwarts; where the Carrow brothers are reigning havoc on the students. They restrain the Carrow and Snape takes Harry, Hermione, George, Draco and Luna to the headmaster's office. Dumbledore tells them about a time turner which could sent them years into the past instead of mere hours, and asks Slughorn to brew a potion that could turn them 11 again. He asks the kid's to go back to Tom Riddle's Hogwarts years and try to change him. Alecto Carrow manages to escape and notifies Voldemort of their presence at Hogwarts. Voldemort arrives and demands they surrender or face the consequences. And the story begins!


	2. Chapter 01: The Plan

**Chapter 1: The Plan**

"How much longer is this going to take?" Harry yelled impatiently at Slughorn. "They won't be able to last long. After all it's Voldemort's entire army against a mere 15 people and the castle's defenses!"

"Harry!" Hermione gave him a pointed look. "This is a complicated potion! You have to be very careful while brewing it or we could die."

"Come now Harry, I'm sure Horace and Miss Granger are doing their very best." Dumbledore's portrait answered him, in his grandfatherly voice. "And the Room of Requirement will provide us with enough protection."

Harry turned his angry eyes at Dumbledore and spat. "And how many people will die, in the meantime? You don't care, you're already dead! You weren't here when Neville was tortured to insanity, or when Ginny and Fred were killed, or when Professor Lupin was given the Dementor's Kiss!" He roared, glaring hatefully at Dumbledore.

Draco had been stunned into silence by Harry's outburst. He never would have imagined Dumbledore's golden boy speaking to him like that.

Hermione silently agreed with Harry.

She would never forget the day Neville had been tortured. She had known true despair under Bellatrix's full powered Cruciatus.

_Excruciating pain had stormed through her body, the tears falling uncontrollably from her eyes, the scream tore from her throat, and after an eternity of pure torment she had been released. _

_Bellatrix had harshly grabbed her hair and turned her face towards Neville. He was lying there, laughing; face turned towards her, and insane glee in his eyes. _

"_Neville…" Hermione whispered, fear griping her as Neville's maniacal laughter echoed in the silent room._

"_Aw! The intsy, wintsy baby finally stepped in his parent's shoes! Isn't that brave of him? I'm sure his Granny would be proud!" Bellatrix childish voice filled her head and her chest contorted painfully._

_Fresh tears started poring down Hermione's already flushed cheeks and she shuck her head violently. "Neville, no! You can't be…" She pleaded, but Neville just keeps laughing._

_A jet of green light and Neville lay there motionless on the floor, his eyes empty._

_Her hair was harshly yanked backwards and the sound of a cruel voice filled her ears. "Don't worry your pretty face dreary, you'll follow him shortly." _

"Miss Granger!" Hermione snapped out of her daze and turned swiftly to her potions teacher. "Yes Professor?" Her voice was shaking; she noticed and tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"I'm done here. Why don't you let me take care of that and go lie down for a while?" He gently took the cup out of Hermione's shaking hands and directed her to the couch.

She shakily sat down on the couch, pulled her legs up to her chest and started rocking back and forth. Luna sat down beside her and patted her back gently. "It's ok. It'll all be over soon."

It was strange how sane Luna acted after 4 months of suffering in Azkaban. Hermione would have thought she would have completely lost it in there, she knew she would.

Harry was pacing the room nervously. Where were Sirius and Tonks, they were supposed to be here by now? He made a move for the door, but Draco and George stopped him.

"If you two know what's good for you, you'll get out of my way!" He threatened, glaring at them.

"Don't be a fool Potter. As you earlier stated, the place's surrounded. If they don't come by themselves, they're already dead. No use in getting killed, for dead bodies." Draco states icily.

Harry's eyes flashed and in the next moment he had pinned Draco against the wall, his wand carved deeply in his neck.

"Harry, NO!" Hermione and Luna both screamed and rushed towards him.

George and Hermione tore Harry off Draco and Luna stood before him, and slapped him hard on the face.

"We've all been through a lot here. But there's no reason to turn on each other. We've only got one another left. Shouldn't we hold on to that?"

Harry stared mesmerized at Luna. Never in his wildest dreams would the Luna he met in his 5 year say such words. He hung his head down in shame. "I know…I…I just, don't want any more people to die because of me." He fell to his knees, dragging Hermione with him.

"Harry it's not your fault." Hermione assured him patting him on the back. "Its dead-head's and his minion's fault."

Luna kneeled down beside him and said in a determined voice. "But we can change that!" Both Harry and Hermione lifted their heads to look at her. "We're going back, to change this. Make sure it never happens again!" She said and her expression softened a little. "So hold on! Jut a little longer."

And then she saw it. The same insane gleam in her eyes as was reflected in Neville's. The feeling of her world crashing down; her sanity leaving her as she wasted away in that horrid place that would make gown men cry. But there was also hope in there, hope that it could all change. And that hope filled Hermione's eyes and she nodded. She lifted herself up the floor and went towards her potions master. "Sorry about earlier Professor. Is there anything I can assist you with?"

"It's alright my dear. There's not much left to do, I can handle it." The professor assured her as he added another ingredient to the cauldron and began stirring.

George helped Harry pick himself up the floor. "Look Malfoy, I'm sor…"

"It's alright Potter." Draco swiftly cut him off. "I understand you." He lowered his gaze. "I liked Ginny, as a friend I mean, and she was killed right in front of me. I couldn't…" He trailed off remembering the hateful day.

The door to the Room of Requirement swung open and in came a panting Sirius carrying an injured Tonks in his arm; McGonagall, Hannah and Snape were right behind them.

"The Dark Lord's forces have breached the castle. We have to go now!" Snape stalked forward grabbing Dumbledore's portrait of the wall.

"Severus, wait! There are more pressing matters to be dealed with. I'm sure it would take Tom some time to get here."

"What about Bill and Charlie? Where are they?" George desperately asked Hannah.

Silence fell in the room. Hannah was squirming under George's plea-full look. Minerva was about to speak and tell him the cruel fate of his two elder brothers when Snape cut her of. "They took the 7th years to Hogsmeade immediately after the Death Eaters were within 10 feet of the castle's front doors. Miss. Abbott wasn't within reach so she staid with us. They should be fine."

George breathed in a sight of relief while Minerva pinned Snape with a disapproving glare and Hannah flashed him a thankful one.

"So the others are safe at Hogsmeade?" Harry asked Sirius.

Sirius turned to glare at Snape, but gave in. "Yeah, they're alright. Dumbledore what are we waiting for? We have to move!" He turned to Dumbledore, not wanting to lie anymore to his godson.

"We're preparing to send the children back in time of course. So, naturally, they need to know what they're getting themselves into." Dumbledore's portrait stated calmly.

"We're WHAT?" Sirius screamed at Dumbledore.

"Not to worry, you will be accompanying them on their task. I'm sure they will need a helping hand on their journey." Dumbledore merrily stated.

Sirius just looked confused at him. "What journey? Can someone explain what's going on here?"

"If you would be so kind as to have a seat first, then I will inform you of our plan." Dumbledore gestured towards the couch.

"We don't have that much time!" growled Snape impatiently.

"Severus, it would not do to send our comrades into unknown territory unprepared. And you arguing with me will only serve in wasting more precious time." Dumbledore stated in a stern voice.

"Done! Do you feel any better?" Luna asked Tonks after she finished bandaging her arm.

"Yes, thank you dear." She whispered in a soft voice, a faint smile graced her face.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, and all occupants of the room, except Slughorn, turned to look at him. "Now that I have your attention." He stated calmly. "Let us begin. First as all of you know, and I am very sad to state this, but it must be done. Voldemort has won." Every occupant in the room shuddered at the words. There was no denying it. Voldemort controlled all of Britain; most of the order members, and the revolutionaries were dead or rotting in Azkaban. The horcrux hunt had cost them precious time, and the life of a special friend. There were no real chances of winning anymore, and they knew it. It was just a mater of time.

"He has won the battle, but not the war." Snape snorted at Dumbledore's statement. Of course he had won the war. They were the only ones still fighting; they could hardly stand as a protest, let alone an army.

"Yes Severus, there is still hope" Dumbledore stated determined. "We might not be able to turn the tides, but we can stop it all from happening. And that's where you come in." He pointed at the occupants of the room. "This friends, is the last mission the Order of the Phoenix will ever have, and most certainly the most vital. Because if this mission succeeds… all that you know will change! For the good or for the worse, that will not be for us to decide. But Voldemort will have never been born." He paused letting his words sink in and then continued with the mission. "There will be a team of people who will return to 1938, Tom Riddle's first year at Hogwarts, and try to persuade the infant not to follow in our own Tom's footsteps."

Sirius snorted. "Like _that_'_s_ ever gonna happen."

Dumbledore's eyes hardened. "If such tragedy were to repeat itself… those who accept this mission will be forced to ensure that Voldemort never sees the light of day again."

Sirius stared open mouth at Dumbledore. "You want us to kill him?"

Dumbledore nodded slowly, his midnight blue eyes devoid of any twinkle. "If the need arises... yes."

"But, that's murder." Sirius desperately stated.

"I'll do it!" Draco's icy voice echoed in the room and every head turned to look at him. "He killed my parents, and sent me to Azkaban, after making my 6th year at school a living nightmare. I'd be glad to pay him back."

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "That is why I have chosen you as one of the candidates for this mission. I do hope that you will give young Tom a chance before that."

Draco gazed intently at Dumbledore, and after a moment he asked. "How much?"

"In his 5th year Tom opened the Chamber of Secrets. I suppose if that incident still occurs it would be safe to deem him… inhuman." Draco nodded swiftly and waited for Dumbledore to continue. "Of course, on his own, I doubt Draco will be able or want to accomplish much, so I must ask of you to choose. Which one of you will accompany him on this mission?" Dumbledore waited. He knew who would decide to go, but he still wanted to hear it from their mouths.

As expected, Harry was the first to speak. "I'll go with him!"

Sirius gave his godson a skeptic look. "Harry, this is dangerous!"

"So what would you have me do? Run around and hide, while I let others take care of my responsibility? The guy is after my blood; he's never going to rest until he finds me! And then you know what'll happen? He's going to kill me! At least, if I go I'll be doing something to stop all this."

Sirius knew Harry was right, and he'd be damned if he'd let his godson face that monster alone. "Alright. It's settled. I'm going too!"

Harry glared at him. "Sirius you don't ha-"

"Don't have to?" Sirius looked incredulously at Harry. "Of course I bloody have to! You're my godson and I'm not letting you do this alone. And that's the end of it!"

"But you could get killed." Harry desperately tried to convince his godfather.

"Harry!" Hermione snapped. "When will you learn that you're not alone? We're in this together!"

"That's right. And well get through this together!" Luna stated. "Sign me in professor Dumbledore." Dumbledore smiled kindly at her, and nodded his head.

"Me too," stated George, a mischievous glee in his eyes. "Let's show those soon to be Death Eaters the power of the Marauder of Hogwarts!"

Sirius's face lithe up at the thought and he shared a knowing smirk with George.

"I'm in for the ride," waved Tonks, "and the pranks."

Dumbledore smiled a true smile. "That should be it then."

"Wait!" Hannah jumped. "I want to come too!"

Dumbledore had certainly not expected this, but nodded nonetheless. "Now let us talk about your new names."

"New names? Why do we need new names?" Sirius asked.

"Well from what I remember, your father Orion Black was in his 3rd year when Tom started his schooling. It would be quite a surprise for him if his son, or a member of the Black family he had never known makes a sudden appearance at Hogwarts. The same goes for Draco's grandfather Abraxas Malfoy who was in the same year as Tom Riddle, and Harry's grandfather Harold Potter who will begin his education in Mr. Riddle's 4th year. And let's not forget the Abbott and the Weasley family who both have several children attending Hogwarts in that time and Roxanne Lovegood who would be in her final year at Hogwarts."

"Oh! Yeah…forgot bout that" Sirius flushed a deep shade of red that would have made Ron proud.

"Now, I've taken the liberty of making each of you files that would provide you with information to be enrolled into Hogwarts, including your birth certificates. Miss. Abbott I'm terribly sorry to say, I didn't include you as this was unexpected, but your files should arrive in time for your departure." Dumbledore stated apologetically.

"That's quite alright professor." Hannah said.

"Wait a second, how can I enroll into Hogwarts?" Sirius asked confused.

"As some of you already know, our talented potions master is brewing this very moment the potion that will allow the ones who will be traveling back to change back into their 11 year old selves and enroll in Hogwarts, on the 1st of September." Dumbledore answered. Sirius flushed in shame again.

"It won't be long now." Slughorn said excited. "Just have to let it cool down a bit."

"Thank you Horace, you've been invaluable to this case." Dumbledore praised.

"Professor, who exactly are we posing as?" Hermione asked.

"Ah, yes, I'm terribly sorry, I forgot to mention. Now, Miss Granger-" He turned to look directly at her. "-Your name is going to be: Hermione Elspeth Watson; you're a pure blood witch, of an ancient family. They went Muggle after their daughter was deemed a squib in 1895, but no one found out until 1963, so you should be fine. You'll find your parents and siblings' names in the files from the first drawer, under my portrait."

Hermione nodded and went to the oak desk that Dumbledore's portrait was placed upon. She opened the first drawer and found a number of files each with a name on them. The first file read: Hermione Elspeth Watson. She opened it and the first thing she saw was her "birth certificate".

"I would like all of you to make a copy of the files before handing them to professor Dippet, just in case." The 8 nodded. "Sirius your name will be: Kedrick Swartz" Dumbledore announced proudly.

Sirius glared. "Cedrick Scharts? You're making me German? They'll think I'm a spy for Grindelwald!"

"Actually, you were born in London. Your parents were Germans, but they immigrated as soon as Grindelwald came to power. So I see no problem with the name. And its Kedrick Swartz, please learn how to pronounce it!" Hermione handed Sirius the envelope with the name Kedrick Swartz.

"Mr. Weasley, your name would be-" Dumbledore began but George swiftly cut him off.

"Gregory Mockswell. I've always liked the name. It has a certain feel to it."

"You know, George, people would tend to think you're mocking them with such a name. Not that I mean to insult someone with that name, but something a bit more normal would be great." Hermione said, but looking among the envelopes she found one with the name:

Gregory Mockswell on it. "I don't believe it!" She turned to Dumbledore.

Said professor was smiling innocently at her. "I think Mr. Mockswell would like his file now, Miss Watson."

Hermione snapped out of her daze and handed George the file with the name: Gregory Mockswell on it. Ironically the file said he had 3 deceased elder brothers and 2 younger ones, all died of a genetic disease George didn't even bother to remember.

"Harry, you're name will be: Daniel Harrison Rowling! All of you are pure-bloods, just to make sure no one would attack you for your Muggle heritage." Dumbledore said gloomily.

"Or better said, no one sets a giant Basilisk on us 5 years from now, yeah we get it." Draco stated in a bored voice.

"Yes, you catch on quickly Mr. Draco Mikhail Ivanov. You are Russian, as you might have guessed." Hermione handed Harry the file with the name Daniel Harrison Rowling, and then moved to Draco to hand him the envelope with the name Draco Mikhail Ivanov.

Draco snooped through it and said. "Good. At least I'll have no problem in answering my own name."

Dumbledore nodded and turned to Tonks. "You will like the name I chose for you, it's: Pandora Marilyn Tonks, pure-blood, American. They'll never be able to check if it's genuine."

Tonks smiled as she took the file from Hermione. "You know I've always wondered why my father didn't name me Pandora. I like the name. Thank you."

"You're mostly welcomed. Now, Miss Abbott and Miss Lovegood's files have arrived. I've made the two of you sisters, considering that you do look similar, and I didn't have the time of inventing a new background for Miss Abbott, so I added her up on Miss Lovegood's file. Miss Lovegood your names will be: Noelle Luna Bouquet. And Miss Abbott's name is: Helene Ana Bouquet." Hermione handed the two girls the files and sat down on the couch next to Luna.

"Good, now that the easy part is over-" Dumbledore's expression suddenly became somber. "- It's time for the hard part." The 8 stopped examining their files and turned to look at Dumbledore. "Tom Riddle," Dumbledore began. "Was one of the most brilliant, and gifted student that Hogwarts has ever seen. Don't think that you know him from just the paper or-" he raised a hand to silence Harry and Draco, "- just because you worked with or met him. He is extremely dangerous! Highly ambitious, and will stop at nothing till he has what he wants! Don't underestimate him for one second! Not even his 11 year old self, and especially not when he grows older!" He spared a glance at each of them, making sure his words had sunk in and continued. "While you're in the past, you must remember that none of you must be found out. No one from there must know where you are from, not even myself!"

"But Dumbledore how are we supposed to live there if no one knows who we are? We don't have any money." Sirius asked.

"Actually you do. I took the liberty of emptying each of your vaults and placing them in the papers at the end of the files. All you have to do is take them to Gringotts and they will remove the charms that the goblins from our bank placed on them. You'll be just as rich as you are today, even more so. Of course you'll need a legal guardian to take care of you so I'm sending Minerva with you."

Minerva looked as though she had just eaten something foul. "What do you mean I'm going with them?"

"Well my dear Minerva," Dumbledore started. "They will be turned back to 11 year-old-kids. As such they will need a legal guardian to represent them in the wizarding world. And I could thing of no one better than you to do so."

"Surely, Albus, it has occurred to you that I'm 1 year above Tom Riddle, did it not?"

"You don't understand my dear Minerva. You are not going to Hogwarts! You will be representing and managing the children and their money until they are of age."

Hermione glared. "Professor, why do we need a legal guardian? Aren't we just going there to change Tom Riddle? What I mean is, we're not going to stay there after everything is done are we?"

Dumbledore studied Hermione for a few second then answered. "Actually, you are. Because you see Miss Granger, there will be no place for you to come back to." Everybody in the room drew a deep breath at the statement. "As I have said, if you succeed, the events from this timeline would of never have happened and you're future selves would have never lived through what you lived. In simple terms, you will be stuck there, with a whole new life ahead of you… with or without Tom Riddle."

The silence that followed was absolute. Everyone was contemplating whether they really wanted to go through with the plan or not. But there was no more time left. A loud bang was heard from the other side of the door, signaling to everybody that the time was up, and it was now or never.

"Dumbledore, we have to go!" Snape shouted. The pounding on the door continued more violently then before.

"Severus, give the time turner to Minerva!" Dumbledore ordered, and Snape pulled the time turner out of his pocket and handed it to McGonagall. "You all know what to do. It's now or never!" Dumbledore told them.

Slughorn rushed to check the potion and cheered. "It's ready!" He pulled 8 glasses out of the drawer and swiftly filled them with a generous quantity of the potion. "You'd better hurry," he said while handing every one of the 8 a glass of potion. "Because we all have to go, NOW!"

The 8 looked miserably at the glass of potion in their hands. It had the appearance of boiling magma and a stench that could carry for miles.

"On three." Sirius said and everybody nodded. "1…2…3" And they drank the potion in one gulp.

"Minerva, start the time turner!" Dumbledore ordered. "Five turns, it should leave you in this precise time in 1938. When you arrive take this passageway to Hogsmeade, you must not be seen!" Dumbledore instructed while Snape pulled out his wand and tapped the wall 3 times. A passageway opened.

The 8 soon to be 11 year olds were convulsing and screaming on the ground.

Slughorn and Snape, who was carrying Dumbledore's portrait, waved their goodbyes and made their way down the passageway. The door shut behind them leaving Minerva with the screaming children on the floor, and the loud bangs that were coming from the outside.

Minerva knew she didn't have a second to lose so she grabbed the time turner and turned it five times. The clock's arrows started rapidly spinning backwards, and Minerva, and the 8 children were swallowed in a blinding cocoon of pure light. Minerva tightly shut her eye. The bangs outside the door were getting dimmer and dimmer, until it disappeared completely. Then she felt it. The sensation of being ripped from the ground and pulled into a whirlwind of chaos. It was worse then her first apparition. The world started fading to black and she knew no more.


	3. Chapter 02: June 12 1938

**Chapter 2: June 12 1938**

It was bliss, pure bliss, Hogwarts that is. The school was roaring with magic and alive with millions of students coming to complete their education. There were little, to no house rivalries, Quidditch being the main thorn in the shoe, but boys must be boys. A beautiful spring day graced the lands. The trees were blossoming red, white and green. Most of the students were outside, gathered around the lake.

Minerva was strolling down the corridors, making her patrol; after all, you could never be too wary of the Weasley twins.

_The Weasley twins?_ That didn't sound right. _Didn't they graduate last year? Or did they?_

She stopped her stroll and took a closer look. Everything seemed fine. The children were still going about their business outside, laughing and chatting happily.

_Almost too perfect._ Minerva thought.

A huge Bang was heard from the end of the corridor, and Minerva snapped out of her daze and rushed to the sound of the noise. She'd be damned if she'd let anyone get away with pranking on her watch. What she found at the end of the corridor both amazed and frightened her. There sitting with a pack of Wildfire Whiz-Bangs was Fred Weasley (or so she thought); which wasn't very odd if you ignore the gloomy expression on his face and the other two people who were standing beside him.

Remus Lupin looked just as worn out as after a full moon. But that was still explainable. It might have been a full moon last night and Minerva hadn't noticed. What worried her was the presence of the _third_ person.

James Potter was looking just as sad and gloomy as the other two beside him. But that just wasn't right. He was dead! Wasn't he? Weren't they ALL dead? Why was everyone so happy? Weren't they at war?

"You finally noticed," said James dully.

Minerva just stared at him. It had been so long since she had heard that voice, she couldn't believe her ears. "Noticed?" she shakily asked. "Noticed what?"

"That something's not right," said Fred. "Nothing's right. Is it?"

"I suppose not. No. Everything's... perfect. It's too perfect," said Minerva in her strong, authoritarian voice.

"Not everything." A voice from somewhere behind her said. She knew that voice! The smooth and motherly voice of Lily Potter. She couldn't turn around. It was too much with just James alone, Lily was… too much.

"Why are you here?" Lupin asked. And Minerva looked confused at him. What was wrong with here? Or with her being here?

"This place, it's called limbo," Lupin stated. "It's where the dead await their loved ones so that they can finally move on together. Did you die Minerva?"

Shock and angst crossed through Minerva at the sound of those words. Did she die? Was she dead? When? How? She couldn't remember. She couldn't remember dying, or being close to dying. Come to think of it, there wasn't much she remembered. She knew her name, her job, the people she met, but no actions. She couldn't remember the last thing she had done, or eaten, or how she came to be here. Was she even here?

"You're not!" Lily stated calmly. "You almost died. You and the others. That's why we're here. Because this could have been the day we collected our loved ones."

Minerva turned to look at her. Who did she mean by 'our loved ones'? Was she referring to Harry? And Fred, who had he come to collect?

Lily regarded her kindly. "Minerva, your time hasn't come yet. You must go back."

_Back? Back to where?_

"You know where!" It was another voice. One that Minerva knew even better than Lily's voice, a person that Minerva _knew_ to be dead. She turned slowly towards the sound, and there he stood, dressed in the same ridiculously bright colored robes, with an unmatching neon green hat and silver beard reaching up to his waist, still looking as imposing as ever, Albus Dumbledore. His expression was somber, and when he spook his words were full of regret. "I am terribly sorry my dear, for the burden that I have placed upon you… upon all of you." He lowered his gaze.

But Minerva still couldn't understand. What was he apologizing for?

"For your low mental capacity, which seems to be fading faster than it should!" Snape sneered at her as he appeared next to Dumbledore.

"Why thank you so much for the charming words, I most certainly am not worthy." And then it struck her, if this was limbo… "Why are you here?" She gazed at Snape intently, as if hoping to decipher him. "Are you-"

"Dead? Yes I've been so for quite some time. 8 hours I'd estimate." Snape answered.

"But how?" Minerva asked confused. And then she remembered. "We were in Hogwarts, in the hallway. The castle was under attack. The Death Eaters got to the children that were of to Hogsmead. They killed them…" She whispered. "And then we headed for the Room of Requirement-"

"Where Slughorn, Dumbledore and I left you and those meddling brats to travel back in time. Judging by the tantrums the Dark Lord was throwing about Potter, when he caught up with us, I'd say you made it."

"He caught you?" Minerva asked shocked.

"Yes. And tortured us quite a while, I assure you it wasn't pleasant." Snape answered diplomatically.

"So we made it?" Minerva asked. "To the past?"

"Yes, and now that the secrets of the universe have been revealed to you, would you mind going away so I can finally cross over. One would think that after so much misery I could at least die in peace." Snape growled icily at her.

"There's no need to be so rude, _Snape_! At least you're off the hook, unlike the rest of us." She spat his name and glared hatefully at him.

"Yes and I am terribly sorry Minerva, but it had to be you." Dumbledore intervened. "You are familiar with the time, the people, and the rules."

"Are you sure I still am? After all 50 years, is a long time Albus." She uttered in a melancholic tome. "But I'll do my best for the children!" Minerva said determined. "Now if you would kindly tell me how to get out of here, I shall take my leave."

"There is one more thing that I would like to ask of you Minerva." Dumbledore pinned her with a pleading look.

"And that is?"

"Don't tell the children what happened to Severus or Slughorn, or our comrades who _supposedly_ escaped to Hogsmeade."

Minerva stared at him. "You want me to lie to them?"

"Not lie!" interrupted Dumbledore. "Merely, don't bestow upon them the burden of people who no longer have a place in this world." Minerva was silent for a moment, and then slowly nodded her head. "Now, to get you home."

Lily came to stand beside her and placed a delicate hand on her shoulder. "Take chare of them!" She was looking directly at her, with those magnificent green eyes, so much like her sons. Minerva nodded slowly and Lily smiled. "Close your eyes. And imagine the place you came from."

And Minerva did. She thought about how the room looked before the wall of light had blinded her. It was an exact replicate of the Gryffindor common room, which she knew like the palm of her hand. And she heard something…

Gall…

Onagall…

"Professor McGonagall" Minerva flashed her eyes opened only to come face-to-face with and 11 year old Hermione Granger, without the big front teeth.

Hermione flashed a smile as soon as she saw her wake "Miss Granger?"

"Actually it's Watson." Hermione stated. "I'm trying to get used to it."

"That's good." Minerva said while picking herself off the floor.

"Yeah well at least you have an easy name, unlike mine. Kederike Schwartz, my ass." Sirius complained and everybody in the room turned to look at him.

Minerva didn't know why she was surprised, she had after all been his Transfiguration's teacher, but she couldn't help laughing. He was an adorable child. Fair white skin, wavy black hair, intense gray eyes; the gaunt marks of Azkaban had completely left him and the pout on his face only added to his cuteness.

"Hey! Stop laughing at me! I was once bigger than you." Sirius said in his defense.

"Not. Any. More." McGonagall stated a superior smirk on her face. "And further more, I am your legal guardian." Sirius gulped. "And you have my full permission, to prank each and any one of those sucked-up-purebloods you deem worthy." She gave him a small wink and Sirius grinned at her.

"Even me professor?" George asked.

Minerva turned towards him and saw that even though he had shrunk a considerate much, George was still towering over the others. "Yes Mr. Mockswell, even you."

She turned to study the rest of the children. The first she laid eyes on was Harry. He had reverted back to his young and adorable self, maybe a little less thin than he was in his first year, but no one would notice.

Luna and Hannah were standing side by side looking intently at Minerva. Now that she had a better look at the girls, she found out Dumbledore was right. The two would look like twins if it were not for their eyes. Should she change one of the girl's eye color?

Tonks was sitting right besides them and she was as charming a girl as Minerva remembered her. Her hair was a bubblegum pink, and her heart shaped face was more round like a babies.

Draco was sleeping on the couch, wrapped up in his too big clothes, with his head barely visible. Minerva looked around and noticed all the kid's were wearing their old clothes.

"This just won't do." She stated shaking her head. "We have to get rid of these clothes and buy you new ones."

"What's wrong with our clothes? Well except for the fact that their one number too large, but we can shrink them." George suggested.

"No we can't!" Hermione scold. "These brands of clothes are from 50 years in the future. Merlin knows how much time it will take for them to appear. You can't just go out there and shout to the world you're not from around here. We have to _blend in_ remember!"

"Where's all that noise coming from?" Draco asked sleepily.

"Ah good that you're awake Mr.…" Minerva waited patiently for Draco to reply.

Draco just looked at her. And then it popped. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" asked Minerva impatiently.

Draco made a move for his file but Hermione was quicker. She snatched the file before he could get it, and Draco slipped on his two number too large clothes and landed face first on the floor. Everybody in the room started laughing at Draco's misfortune.

"No… cheating… for you… Mr." Hermione managed to say between giggles.

"When are we going shopping?" Hannah asked after she'd stopped laughing.

"When the boy-with-no-name remembers his, Miss… " Minerva looked pointedly at her.

Hannah took a slight bow, and said adapting a French accent that would have made Fleur proud. "Helene Ana Bouquet, zi plajoure iz all mine." Most of the occupants in the room started clapping, except for Draco who had a deep scowl on his face. "And zis-" she pointed towards Luna. "-iz my twin zister, w'o waz raizd in 'England. We were reunited lazt y'ar, at our ount'z funerar." She took another bow and huffed. "It's annoying talking like that."

"What? We have to sound foreign too?" George asked.

"Yes, it would be less suspicious if you did." Minerva added. She turned to Luna and Hannah and asked. "Which one of you will change her eye color?"

"Me!" Hannah stated. "I've always wanted to have blue eyes." Minerva pulled out her wand and applied a glamour charm on Hannah's eyes, making them the same blue as Luna's.

"Alright children I want you all to shrink your robes and transfigure your jackets into black overcoats." Minerva said. The kids nodded, took out their wands and tried to shrink their clothes. Nothing happened. They tried again. Still nothing.

"Professor…" began Hermione.

"Yes Miss Gre…Watson, I can see. It appears as though your magical core has shrunk too. It will take a while to regain your earlier skills, but it shouldn't be that hard." Minerva sighed and took out her wand. She shrank the clothes, and transfigured their jackets into black overcoats and went to stand at the wall where Snape had opened the tunnel. She taped the places that Snape had taped and the part of the wall swung open like a door, revealing a secret underground tunnel.

"Dumbledore said this will lead us to Hogsmeade." The kids nodded and followed Minerva down the passageway. "When we arrive at Hogsmeade, we'll head straight to Madam Rosmerta's. If I remember correctly it should be open and we'll floo to Diagon Alley. Then we'll head straight to Gringotts to open your vaults. And then…" She trailed off.

"And then?" The kids asked.

"Why, we look for a house. You can't be expected to live on the streets if you're pureblood wizard, now can you?"

The walk through the tunnel was long and tiring, and by the time they arrived at the Hog's Head, it was well passed 7 am. Luckily they didn't have to walk all the way to Madam Rosmerta's as the Hog's Head was connected to the floo network.

One by one they arrived in Diagon Alley and immediately set of to Gringotts. To say the goblins were surprised by the amount of money they wanted to store was and understatement. But they were only too happy to receive it.

Tonks was given the vault 715. Draco's was nr. 11. Hanna-510. Luna-512. Sirius-15. George-729. Hermione-72. Harry-28. They all insisted they open Minerva a vault but she curtly declined.

By the time they finished with Gringotts it was already dusk. So Minerva decided they would rent rooms at the Leaky Cauldron for the night and go looking for clothes and a house tomorrow.

The Leaky Cauldron was packed, so they only managed to get 4 rooms.

Minerva split them up in groups of two. George and Sirius were given a room, and Draco and Harry the other.

"Hey! How come I don't get to sleep with my godson?" growled Sirius.

"Mr. Swartz, you don't have a godson! And besides, if I left Mr. Mockswell in the same room with Mr. Ivanov, I doubt they'd make it through the night." By the time Minerva stopped talking, Sirius's head was spinning so fast he stopped arguing altogether.

He dizzily followed George in their room.

"Who was she talking about?" He asked.

"Well the Mockswell guy is me, but the rest… I don't know." answered George.

Minerva shook her head. They would have to get used to their new names, and fast, if they didn't want this to fail. If she remembered anything about Riddle was his unbelievably sharp memory.

"Pro…Miss Muller, how are we going to sleep?" Hermione asked. They had agreed on calling her Minerva Muller, since she wasn't and would never become a teacher again it was pointless to call her 'Professor', and would draw unwanted attention toward them.

Minerva turned to the girls and said. "Well two of you-"

"The girls can sleep together considering the fact that they're small, if we move the beds together, they should have no problem. And I'll sleep with Minerva." Tonks answered smiling.

Minerva sight. "Well I suppose that could work. Now let's get you girls to sleep."

While the girls slept sound, like angels. The boys were another problem entirely.

Sirius and George had taken it upon themselves to make sure Draco didn't molest, mistreat, harass ore come within 10 feet of Harry (which was kind of difficult seeing as the beds were just 7 feet apart). Minerva had only slept the first 2 hours that night seeing as every other hour she'd been woke by the sound of loud bangs at the door or screams coming from the next room, or Merlin knows what other pranks the two devils had done throughout the night. Even Travis, the owner had come down to warn the boys to stop or they'd be kicked out. Of course the manager did not know that in doing so he had just become the next target of the two Marauders. And as such, throughout the night, a series of unfortunate events had been bestowed upon the poor owner, that he had sent for an exorcist the next day. This chance allowed Minerva, Harry and Draco a good 2 extra hours of sleep.

So as expected the next day Sirius and George were yawning, and complaining about the lack of sleep.

"You deserve it!" Minerva scolded them. "The night is used for sleep, not games."

"But you gave us your full consent to prank every future Death Eater that we deem worthy." George threw her words right back at her.

"There were no future Death Eaters in the hotel!" Minerva pointed out.

"Yes they were!" Sirius countered.

"Ferret boy here's future self is gonna be a Death Eater some day. That has to count for something." George stated.

"Actually, considering the fact that we _are_ here to change that, it doesn't." said Hermione.

"You mean _if_ we manage to change you-know-who, right?" George corrected.

"We're here!" Minerva proudly announced.

They had stopped in front of Stephanie's fashion house, which didn't look so fashionable to them. It was old styled, and painted in the most horrid bright pink color that it immediately gave them the impression of an oversized Umbridge. Reluctant as they were to enter the shop, they needed new clothes - pure-blood clothes - so begrudgingly they went inside.

It wasn't as horrid on the inside as on the outside. The walls were dyed in a bright sunflower color, with a white ceiling, and marble floor. There were a few people making order, or trying out clots here and there.

As soon as they entered, a stern looking woman made her way to them. "Good Morning," she spoke with a slight French accent. "And Welcome to Stephanie's, I am Madam Stephanie. How can I be of service?"

Draco took the lead and answered. "It is a pleasure Madam! My companions and I have just arrived from abroad, and it seems our luggage had been lost in the floo network. So we decided to buy a new wardrobe of your finest quality to replace it. Money is not an issue."

Stephanie seemed to glee at the news and immediately sent for her employs.

By midday Minerva and the kids, were exhausted, but thank Merlin, finished with their shopping. Stephanie of course hadn't let them walk away without 20 suits each for casual, events, or leisure ware. They had ended up paying no less than 140 Galleons for them, but Draco had assured them the clothes were well worth their price. They were currently eating ice-cream at The Pub, a shop next to the Leaky Cauldron which apparently would shut down in about 20 years.

"That was exhausting!" complained George.

"Oh! You haven't seen _anything_ until you went sopping with my mother. It would have _killed her_ to leave the shop so early." Sirius assured him.

"You went shopping with your mom?" Hannah asked incredulously. "I thought only girls did that."

"Yeah, well when there are only 2 boys in the family, one of them has to take the girl's place." Sirius said with a wink.

Hannah started giggling. "Oh I see, so you were the girl of the family. Have you ever worn a dress?"

"No, but if your majesty so deems of her faithful servant, I'd be only to glad to oblige," Sirius took a curt bow, before flashing Hannah a brilliant smile. Harry and Hermione shared a meaningful look.

"Oh, please!" growled Draco. "Aren't you a bit too young to be flirting?"

"I'm 39." Sirius barked. "And I can do without my mother!"

"No you're not, and no you _can't_!" snapped Minerva. She fixed Sirius with a pointed glare and said. "You're a bloody 11 year old! And you have to act like a bloody 11 year old! When are you going to get this into your head?" Minerva inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself. "You'll be going to Hogwarts in 2 months. You'll be under Riddle's ever-watching eyes. And there's so much you need to learn, so much you need to be prepared for. And we don't have time!"

Sirius hung his head in shame. "Look Minerva I'm not trying to make this hard for you-"

"I know!" Minerva cut him of. "I'm sorry. But you have to understand me! I've been to school with that monster, and trust me you have no idea what he's capable of." She sighted, nervously rubbing her hands together. "If you think Voldemort was bad, you're wrong! Voldemort played with the cards on the table, he wasn't hiding under a mask, he wasn't the one where all the pressure hung on! Tom Riddle is! He's a manipulative bastard, to the core, and he could convince anyone of anything. He'll kill you if he feels threatened, and you won't even know when it happens." The kids fell silent. All had their heads hung, whether in shame or lost in thought. "I'm not saying you should be pessimistic. Just-"

"Miss Muller, when are we buying the house?" Hermione asked egger to change the subject.

The other kids' face lit up at the change of topic.

"Yeah, when? And it should be a BIG house; we are supposed to be snobby pure-bloods after all." Sirius stated, sending a mock glare at Draco.

"If you so wish to consider yourself _Swartz_, then please don't let me keep you down." Draco shot right back.

"Oh come on _Ivanov_, everybody knows you can't sit that big ass of yours on anything other than a pile of fluffy pillows." Harry jumped to the defense of his godfather.

"Who asked you _Rowling_?" Draco countered.

"Guys, what about the house?" Hermione asked, but no one was listening to her. Sirius had gone back to flirting with Hannah. Draco and Harry were stuck up in one of their battle of wits. George and Tonks were animatedly talking about the pranks they could pull at Hogwarts.

Minerva pulled out a parchment and quill and addressed Hermione and Luna. "I've asked the goblins at Gringotts to give me a list of houses they're selling. And seeing as no one else is interested, I suppose it's only right to choose what we like." Hermione and Luna snuggled close to Minerva. "I was thinking about this one…"

The whole afternoon passed in similar events. At one point in time Harry and Draco got tired of their childish insults and joined Minerva, Hermione and Luna to visit some houses on the list. They ended up giving in to Draco's pure-blood tastes and buying a three flour high, immense manor, equipped with 24 rooms, a dining room the size of the Dursley's house, a kitchen, a library, a large basement to rival Hogwarts, and an immense ballroom which would leisurely fit in half the school grounds… ok maybe not half, but definitely a quarter. And the 'garden' was huge.

"Wow!" was all that came out of Hannah's mouth. Sirius and George both looked God-smacked.

"It's a palace!" marveled Tonks.

"Actually, it was the smallest they had." Draco told them, earning weird glances from the quartet.

"The smallest that you deemed worthy of your pure-blood ass." Harry corrected him.

"Wow, wow, wow! Wait a minute! So, you're telling me, that we get to live in THAT … _thing_ over there?" Sirius asked enthusiastically. George snapped out of his daze and listened anxious for the answer.

"Yes Swartz, we already bought the manor. We can move in tonight." Draco smugly announced.

That was all George and Sirius needed to hear. They started racing like mad men towards the manor while screaming at the top of their lungs. "Last one inn's a rotten egg."

Minerva shook her head disapprovingly.

Draco smirked and walked lazily towards the manor.

Harry, Hermione, Luna and Hannah followed shortly.

"Minerva, how much did this cost? I mean do we _really_ have money for THAT?" Tonks pointed towards the manor.

"105.020 Galleons 386 Sickles and 58 Knuts. Draco spent 1/29 of the Malfoy inheritance on it." Minerva answered.

Tonks jaw dropped. "The Malfoy are that…"

"Yes, don't you remember? You were with us at Gringotts when we filed the vaults." calmly answered Minerva. "We might as well settle in." she started walking towards the manor with a baffled Tonks at her heals.


	4. Chapter 03: The Birthday Present

**Chapter 3: The Birthday Present**

"The first floor rooms are the guest rooms. The second floor belongs to the girls and the third floor to the boys." Those had been Minerva's rules regarding the room arrangements.

There were 7 bedrooms on each floor. The kitchen, the dining room and the ball room were on the ground floor; the library was on the first floor, and the dungeon (equipped with its very own potions lab) was in the basement. Out in the backyard there was a miniaturized Quidditch pitch.

Minerva, as paranoid as she was with the war led by Grindelwald, had warded the house with every possible charm, curse, jinx and hex in the book, including a Fidelius Charm (she was the secret keeper). She had bought 10 house elves and assigned one to each of the children.

Harry had received Flinch, whom reminded him strongly of Dobby. Draco had received Grim, a pure-blood supremacist supporter, who enjoyed being treated like crap (Tonks had deemed him a masochist). Hermione had gotten Lila, a well mannered house elf. Luna got Bell, who was quite reminiscent of the Luna they had befriended in their 5th year. Tonks got Pan, a funny and cheerful little creature, who thought the world was pink. Hannah was given Fiore, a strict and business like house elf.

Sirius, now commonly known as Ced, had been given Troy, a nasty little bugger, who was just too egger to help his master with every prank, joke, ore anything that popped through his head at any given time.

George, who had kept his name with the excuse that Greg was to similar to Fred, was given Riot, who was well deserving of his name, always eager to cause trouble.

As such Minerva had suffered a number of migraines throughout the month they had spent in Muller Manor. The 2 Marauders having been revigorated by their youthfulness would try to sneak out every night (with 1 successful attempt, in which Minerva had had a stroke, and Sirius and George were apprehended by the Aurors for underage drinking), prank every occupant of the house every day (for some reason that didn't include Hannah, and it would be mostly focused on Draco), and they had taken it upon themselves to do the exact opposite of whatever Minerva said (They _had_ jumped out the 3rd floor window, when they were told not to).

The kids began practicing magic after the first day, and were soon able to cast all of the 1st, most of the 2nd and a few of the 3 year spells.

On the third day Minerva and the kids had gone to Diagon Alley to buy brooms, extra furniture for their rooms, a complete set of makeup for the girls, and a few other things Draco had deemed worthy of a pure-blood wizard.

On the forth day Draco had started giving them etiquette lessons, to which Sirius and George had disagreed.

"Why, do we bloody need etiquette lessons?" Sirius had growled.

"Because, if by any catastrophic coincidence you _do_ get sorted into Slytherin this time, you'd be laughed at by your own housemates." Draco had impatiently answered. "And not to mention exposed, or in your case, deemed of NOT being a pureblood."

"_Me_! A Slytherin? NEVER!" growled Sirius defiantly.

"Yep! There's no way in hell, you'll catch us in the snake's house!" George swiftly agreed.

"But wouldn't it be easier to spy on Riddle if we were in Slytherin?" asked Luna.

"It would. But I don't think it'll do to have all of us in the same house." said Hermione.

"No it wouldn't." began Minerva. "I think it would be more appropriate to have two of you in each house. We can't just concentrate on Slytherin alone, though that is our main target."

"Yes and if we get sorted into different houses we'll have a better shot at following Riddle around in our 5th to 7th year. We could be our own house's prefects." stated Hermione enthusiastically.

"Mione, shouldn't we worry bout the here and now, more then the then and there?" asked George.

Hermione's cheeks flushed red, but Minerva encouraged her. "No, she's right! If you're all in the same house that would leave only one misfortunate girl-" she looked pointedly at Hermione "- to supervise Riddle in his 5th to 7th year. Armando Dippet would most certainly give Riddle the Prefect and Head Boy badge without a second thought. This way we can sabotage Riddle's plans, if any, to recruit from another house, if we can't turn him that is." The kids silently agreed. "So which house do you want to be sorted into?"

"Gryffindor!" shouted George and Sirius in unison.

"I would rater go with the 1 boy and 1 girl in each house if possible." said Minerva.

Sirius and George shared a look and answered: "Not gonna happen."

Minerva sighed. "Very well, but no more Gryffindor. We can't afford to have one of you alone in a house." The others nodded.

"I could go to Ravenclaw with Luna." said Hermione. "The hat wanted to put me there in my first year." Minerva nodded.

Tonks wrapped her arms around Hannah and said. "You know us to be Hufflepuffs." She winked. Minerva smiled.

"Which leaves…" She said, looking pointedly at Harry and Draco. "Slytherin."

Sirius looked confused for a second but then his face fell. "My godson is not going anywhere near Slytherin!" He roared.

"You'll have to excuse me, but I beg to differ. Slytherin is the house in which Riddle will be sorted in. Draco can't go there alone!" Minerva snapped. "And you don't _have_ a godson!"

"Yes he can!" protested George. "He's been there before! He knows how to take care of himself! It's his house after all!"

"Yes, he has been sorted into Slytherin. And at the time _he_ was the biggest threat in the house, not Riddle!" Minerva exclaimed. "I can't send any of you alone in that house with no one to cover your back! It would be suicide!"

"She's right." Harry interrupted. "And besides, the hat did want to sort me in Slytherin in my first year. I'll finally get to see what it's like."

"Harry listen-" Sirius began but Harry cut him of.

"Oh! Will you stop it! It's my own bloody choice! And I want to go there! Ok?"

"No it's not _ok_!" It was Hermione who spoke. "Now listen here you!" she pinned Harry with a hard glare. "If you're going in that house just because _it's your responsibility_ then you'd better get that out of your head. We all came here, and we're doing this together. No one goes alone."

"Exactly! That's why I'm going to Slytherin. Because none of you can! Seriously Hermione do you imagine yourself in that house?" Harry asked exasperated.

Hermione thought for a moment. "I could if I wanted to!" She stated still not backing down.

"No you couldn't!" interrupted Draco. "You'd be eaten alive by those pure-blood supremacists, even if I was with you 24/7, and you'd follow my instructions to the smallest detail. Believe me you wouldn't last in Slytherin."

"Oh really?" asked Hermione, her eyes narrowing. "Is that a challenge?"

Draco chuckled slightly. "No! It's a statement. You wouldn't even get sorted."

"We'll just have to wait and see." was Hermione's cold reply.

Sensing that this was going to end bad Harry tried to intervene. "Hermione, if you go to Slytherin who'll go to Ravenclaw with Luna?"

"Ced can!" Hermione stated still glaring at Draco. "And you can go to Gryffindor."

Sirius nodded approvingly. "Who's Ced?" He asked and everybody slapped their heads.

"The idiot who asked!" snapped Draco. "Would you learn your dang name already?"

"Well _excuse me_ for being the only one who can't keep his name!" Sirius snapped right back at him. "And I'm not going to Ravenclaw."

"Fine then! Harry…" Hermione turned to glare at him. "You have to start learning!"

From that day on it was decided that Sirius and George, who were going to Gryffindor only needed a relatively low number of etiquettes, so Draco spent as less time with them as possible. Tonks took after the two and dropped the lessons after 6 weeks. Hanna and Luna were turning out to be quite fine ladies, much to Draco and Minerva's delight. Hermione and Harry of course were given intensive training, as either of them could make it into Slytherin. Harry, being a Ravenclaw candidate, was forced to study 3 hour a day with Hermione.

3 days prior to Harry's birthday Minerva owld Dippet and requested the children be enrolled into Hogwarts. The answer came the very next day, in the form of 8 Hogwarts letter for the kids. On the 31st of July Minerva took them shopping for their school supplies.

The moment the kids got out of Gringotts they parted ways, agreeing to meet at The Pub in 3 hours. Minerva and Hermione went to the 'All You Need School Supplies', to buy supplies for the 8 children. Then they headed out to 'The Brown's Book Shop', were they bought 8 pairs of all their school book's. Hermione took it upon herself to have Harry well prepared for his 1st year as a Ravenclaw and bought him extra reading materials on all the school subjects that she could get her hands on.

Minerva glared disapprovingly at Harry's _birthday present_.

"I don't think Harry's going to appreciate 24 extra books to read for his birthday. Not to mention how thick and expensive those things are."

Hermione glared. "It's perfectly normal for a Ravenclaw first year to want to learn everything there is to learn about Hogwarts and its subjects before the start of term." She picked up her bag with the books (now shrunk and wrapped in blue paper and white ribbon).

"I think you're overestimating the name Ravenclaw, Miss Watson." Minerva sight and followed Hermione out of the shop. "We should head down to The Pub."

"No I still have to buy an owl." Hermione said heading for 'The Zookeeper'. _What a stupid name_! She thought.

-OOOOOO-

Sirius and George had spent the first 2 hours searching for a birthday present for Harry. Sirius had bought him a Sneaker Scoop (his old one was left behind at nr 12 Grimmauld Place), and a new (old for his taste) set of broom polisher. George had bought a few ingredients to hand-make Harry one of the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes specialties: Nosebleed Nougat (so he could ditch any class he didn't like), a Hats Shield, Shield Gloves and a Shield Cloak.

"Hey George! I need to come up with and excuse to keep my name." Sirius stated. "I mean I can get away with not knowing it with you guys, but the kids at school are a totally different matter."

"You're right." George said pensively. Then it clicked. "How bout you tell Minerva you don't want to be called Ced cause it was Cedric's nickname!" Sirius looked confused. "It's the Hogwarts Try Wizard Champion who died in Harry's 4th year."

A spark of understanding crossed Sirius's face. "And I wouldn't want to force Harry to remember his dead friend buy using his nickname, George you're a geniuses! I could hug you."

"No thanks! And you could tell the guys at school that you're friends started calling you Sirius after Cedric, who was a _very good_ friend of yours, died." Sirius grinned. "You'd still have to remember your full name though."

"Yeah, but I don't have to answer to it." Sirius sighted in relief. "Now that _that's_ over with, where do we have to go next?"

"Hmm" George thought. "We still have bout and hour till we have to go to The Pub, and there are a few shops I'd like to visit."

"Ok let's go then." Sirius said enthusiastically.

-OOOOOO-

Draco was strolling around Diagon Alley with one thought in mind. _What do you buy your arch rival for his birthday?_ Well if he were in his sixth year again he'd probably give him that necklace he bought to kill Dumbles, but that wouldn't actually work seeing ass Pot…_Rowling _already knew of it. _And_ he was already on the two devils black list. They'd start plotting his painful demise if he did that.

He _could_ pretend he forgot about it. No, Weas…_Mockswell_ and _Swartz_ had seen to reminding them that morning of Rowling's birthday.

He could just bring nothing and give no reason, after all his rivalry with Pot…_Rowling_ was legendary so there was no need for him to be so thoughtful. Yes that was a great plan, and could work perfectly for him. Pot…_Harry_ would certainly not mind. After all, when had they been on giving-birthday-presents terms?

Then again, he _was_ going to be in the same house as Harry (there was no way in hell he'd believe Gra…_Watson_ would end up in Slytherin), and they _had_ started a tentative friendship in these past few weeks. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to get the other boy a birthday present. Of course that still left the question of _what_ to get him?

Something related to Quidditch, he decided. Yes Harry liked Quidditch, it could work. But what? A beaters bat, so he could beet up Riddle with it! No, he didn't think Riddle would fall for that. They already had a Quaffle, and 2 Bludgers, and a Snitch, and Brooms…no, definitely not from Quidditch.

_Hmm…what would Harry want? If I were Harry, what would I want for my birthday? He wanted to become something…An Auror! That's it a book on Auror Training!_ Draco beamed at his own intelligence. He went rushing to 'The Brown's Book Shop'.

"Excuse me, sir!" He said breathlessly. Mr. Brown turned to look at him.

"Oh! Hello there, young lad. What can I get for ya?" The man asked smiling.

_Young Lad_, Draco was pissed. Who did this oaf thinks he was to call him _young lad_! But then he snapped out of it. _Book, book, take the book firs and then curs this oaf to the moon and back_.

"I was wondering if you have any books on Auror training? My friend's birthday is coming up and I heard he wanted to become an Auror, so I thought I'd get him a book on the matter for his birthday." He said in a perfectly controlled voice.

"Why of course I have a couple of books. Wait right here!" The man headed to the back of the shop and came back with two thick books one of them entitled _Beginners Course for Future Aurors, by Amelia Dutch_ and the other _The Auror Training, and The Concept of Being an Auror, by Bob Malkings. _"Here you go lad, that'll be 10 Galleons."

Draco took the two books and paid the man. He pretended to leave and when Mr. Brown turned towards the back door he shot a Tickling hex at him, and ran from the shop as fast as he could. He stopped to gain his breath a few shops from The Pub. It wouldn't do for a Malfoy to be seen tomato-red and out of breath after all. He glanced at the tables and saw that only Gra…_Hermione_ and Muller were there. Once he was certain his skin had regained its pale complexion he made his way towards the two girls.

-OOOOOO-

Luna, Hannah and Tonks had wondered the Alley in search for a birthday present for Harry. They had bought 3 owls. A snow white one with blue spots names Nami for Luna, a brown one with yellow spots named Morgan for Hannah, and a white one with black spots named R.J. for Tonks.

"But we still haven't found any birthday present for Harry!" Tonks complained.

"How about an owl?" Hannah suggested.

"Yeah right, like nobody else's gonna buy him that!" said Tonks miserably. "I can't think of anything he might want!"

"Why don't we buy him something he'll need but the others wont buy for him!" suggested Hannah.

"And that would be?" Tonks asked in a bored tone.

"Well, Ced said he wants to buy him a Sneaker Scoop, Miss Muller'll probably buy him an owl, George'll definitely buy him something funny, and Hermione would buy books, I don't know bout Draco, but that would leave, a wand polisher, an enchanted tent - in case we'd wanna go camping - an enchanted watch - I heard they were more common in this time - and about anything else that I haven't already mentioned." Hannah stated proud of herself.

"Yeah, so which one of those things are we gonna get him?" Tonks asked exasperatedly.

Luna was inspecting the shops around, when she spotted one with the name 'Magical Mysteries and Ancient Artifacts', she grinned and grabbed Tonks sleeve. "Look!" She pointed at the shop. The two girls turned and grinned as well.

"I bet none of the others went in there!" said Tonks excited. "Let's go!" She grabbed the other two girls and made a run for the shop.

Inside the shop there were a multitude of quills, parchments, boxes, mirrors, and other things the girls had never seen or heard of. The shop owner was an old and friendly lad who greeted the girls with a smile.

"Hello there my lovely ladies, and welcome to 'Magical Mysteries and Ancient Artifacts'! My name is Edward Gibbon, how may I help you?"

"Am, we were looking for a birthday present for one of our friends," Tonks said. "And we didn't want to buy him something somebody else bought, something unusual and helpful. Do you happen to have anything around the line?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course." Mr. Gibbon nodded. "Just wait a minute and I'll be back with a few items."

He made his way in the back of the shop and came back with 3 items in his hand.

"You'll like these!" He said eyes twinkling. "This" he held up an ordinary mirror, "is the Mirror of Esme, it is supposed to grant the owner the power to see into peoples very soul, and unlock their hidden talents." Luna looked mesmerized at the mirror, while Tonks and Hannah glared skeptically at it. Mr. Gibbon sensing the two girls's reluctance to believe him said. "Why don't you take a look, my dear?" He held the mirror up to Hannah.

Hannah took the mirror and looked in it. Tonks and Luna snuggled close to her and were disappointed when all that they saw was Hannah's own reflection. They looked skeptically back at the old man. Mr. Gibbon whispered "Revelatie" and encouraged them to take another look. Their jaws dropped.

Hannah's reflection was glowing gold; around her there were listed her personality traits (prideful, ambitious, loyal, just,…), and dreams,(to avenge her mother, to prevent Lord Voldemort from rising to power, to get married and have children…), and right at the very bottom, there were two words: The Sacrifice. The girls looked confusedly at it, and Hannah panicked.

"What do these words at the bottom mean?" She asked.

Mr. Gibbon took the mirror from the girls and they were surprised to find out Hannah's reflection did not disappear.

"Hmm…This part is normally reserved for the person's future. It's quite strange considering that you are the first who's ever looked into the mirror and had anything predicted, it's normally blank." He said a scowl appearing on his face. "If you don't mind my asking, who is this Lord Voldemort you wish to stop from rising to power?"

The girls shared a panicked look. "We heard a prophecy" Said Tonks nervously. "One that said there will be a vicious dark lord to rise to power, many years from now, and we decided it'll be fun to go looking for him. You know childhood dreams!" She turned to looks disapprovingly at Hannah. "Seriously Ana I thought you got over it!"

"I'm getting there!" She said nervously.

Mr. Gibbon felt the girls discomfort and decided to spare them the awkward moment. He whispered a silent "Close" and Hannah's reflection diapered from the mirror. He offered the mirror to Tonks. "Would you care to look my dear?"

Tonks was hesitant. Should she look? Did she even _want_ to look?

Hannah spared her the discomfort. "That won't be necessary, I'll take the mirror! How much?"

Mr. Gibbon nodded and placed the mirror in a box. "35 Galleons, should I wrap it up for your friend?" He asked.

"Yes please." Hannah said and pulled out 35 Galleons from her bag. "Can we see the other artifacts?"

"Why of course." Mr. Gibbon said handing the mirror to Hannah and pocketing the money.

"This here" He held up a pendulum which had 3 plates with golden writing on them, 'far' in the left extremity, 'done' in the right extremity, and 'half' in the middle where the pendulum lay unmoving, it didn't even flinch when the owner took it of the table and handed it to the girls. "It's called The Pendulum of Osiris, it's supposed to show the owner how close he's come to achieving a certain task. For instance, think of something you want to do, and the pendulum will move to one of the 3 plates with writing to show you how much progress you have made in accomplishing that goal."

Tonks took the pendulum enthusiastically and thought about her Auror training. To the girls surprise the pendulum moved to the right extremity and halted on the word 'done'.

"Ha! Did you see that?" She asked the other two.

"Yeah, give me a try!" Hannah said. Tonks handed the pendulum to Hannah, which returned to the 'half' position. Hannah thought about her etiquette lessons with Draco, and saw the pendulum move to the right, but unlike Tonks's it didn't go all the way to the top. She sighed, she knew she still had a lot to learn, and handed Tonks back the pendulum.

"I love it!" Tonks said. "Could you please wrap this up for me? And tell me how much it costs?"

"Certainly, that would be 5 Galleons." The owner said and wrapped up the pendulum for Tonks.

Tonks paid the man and pocketed the pendulum a huge smile carved on her face.

"Now for the last one!" Mr. Gibbon said enthusiastically. "This, my dears," he held up a small wooden box, which could easily fit in a back-pocket, "is Countess Mileena's Jigsaw Puzzle. Legend has it that whoever completes this puzzle will be granted his hearts desire." He opened the box to reveal a small number of glass like, red puzzle pieces. "However, I can not assure you this is true, because no one has ever actually been able to finish it."

Tonks and Hannah looked bored at the box, it was not the first time they had heard such a story, but Luna was looking intently at it. She took the box from the owner and closed it. When she opened it again the girls saw that the number of pieces inside had considerably increased, compared to the last time, and the color had changed to an intense blue.

"What happened to it?" Tonks asked.

"Well it's said that the puzzle changes to correspond the owner's very heart's desire." said Gibbon. "But as I've said, it was never proven whether the legend is real or not."

"I like it." said Luna. "How much?" She asked looking at the shop owner.

"10 Galleons." He stated simply. Luna dug into her bag and pulled out 10 galleons.

Hannah and Tonks looked skeptically at him. "10 Galleons? That's how much is worth _one's heart's desire_?" asked Tonks skeptically.

"No, that's how much is worth the Jigsaw Puzzle. Your own hearts desire," he said smiling, "is priceless." He finished pocketing the money from Luna. "Now, is there anything else I could be of service with?"

"No, thank you, we got what we came for." Tonks stated. "Good by!" She headed for the door. Luna and Hannah followed after waving the man their good byes.

"Good by!" Mr. Gibbon said. "And good luck."

"That was…something." Tonks said and the other two girls nodded their agreement. "But at least we got presents for Harry!" She said excited. "Lets head for The Pub, I want Ice-cream!"

"Me too!" Hannah said excited. Luna nodded her head and the girls ran towards The Pub.

-OOOOOO-

Harry was the last of the gang to arrive at The Pub. A beautiful snow white owl, whom strikingly resembled Hedwig (and most certainly received her name), was secured in his embrace, and Minerva was glad she had decided on buying him an enchanted watch in the end. As soon as Harry joined them, Tonks handed him his ice-cream and Minerva rushed the kids home.

That night the entire Muller Manor was in a jovial mood. Hermione had order the house elves to wash and wear festive clothes, the girls wore white dresses and the men were dressed in black tuxedos. Sirius (who was finally allowed to keep his name), George and Tonks had decorated the place from head to toe. George had enchanted the lights in the ballroom to change color, and there was a big pinyata hanging in the very middle of it.

A mountain of presents for Harry was pilled up in one corner, and an immense dining table filled with every flavor of food you could ever dream of was placed in the opposite corner.

To say Harry was happy was an understatement. He was ecstatic! Never in his entire life would he have dreamed that people would go to all this trouble just to arrange his birthday party. Of course his last birthday party hadn't been so bad either (if it hadn't been for Ron's recent death), one good reason was that he hadn't spent it with the Dursleys, the other was that all his friends (-Ron) were there with him. His smile crumbled a little at the thought of all the people who wouldn't be with him this time, all the people he'd never see again. But he didn't have time to dwell on this for long, because George and Sirius grabbed him by the hands and dragged him towards the dining table.

"Yoo mate! How long d'ya plan on keeping us starving here?" said George grinning broadly at him.

"Or keep the party at bay?" said Sirius with a wink.

Once the two had dragged him at the front of the table all the occupants in the room started singing Happy Birthday, and Harry couldn't help but grin at them. When the song ended he blew his 11 candles and wished that a moment like this could repeat itself every year from now on.

Sirius and George, who were starving, if the growling that came from their stomach was anything to go by, eagerly encouraged him to cut the cake. Harry did so and everyone began eating.

After everyone was full the two Marauders dragged Harry up to the pinyata, blindfolded him, and placed one of the beaters bats from their Quidditch supply in his hands. Harry swung eagerly at the air, but missed every time. When he finally hit the pinyata it exploded, but unlike a normal one candy didn't start poring out of it, but ratter a large jet of water fell from the roof, and soaked everybody in the room, except for Sirius and George, who were hiding under the table.

All hell broke loose as Tonks and Hannah turned their wands on the two pranksters, Hermione and Draco followed after they dried themselves. Minerva futilely tried to make the angry mob see reason, but there was no talking to them and she quickly dived out of the way of a Stunning spell.

The mob, chased George and Sirius out of the ballroom and up the stairs, landing right into the cleverly laid out escape plan of the two. Hermione's legs were caught by a rope which left her hanging upside down, and Draco was stuck by the Permanent Sticking Glue that George had set on the first step. Hermione however managed to free herself and was back in the chase. But Sirius and George hadn't given up quite yet. They split up on the first floor, George headed towards the rooms, while Sirius went up to the third floor.

Hermione and Tonks went after George while Hannah followed Sirius to the third floor.

Tonks was mercilessly shooting spell after spell at George while Hermione used only the Stupefy hex. The two were soon met with resistance: the Weasley's Deflagration Deluxe.

Tonks easily managed to hex and curse the fireworks and resumed the pursuit for George.

Hermione's eyes widened considerably as three fireworks headed straight for her. She swiftly jumped out of the way, but the fireworks turned 180 and dashed right back for her. She shot a stunning hex for one of them and it exploded in millions of material pieces. The others were getting dangerously close to her so she quickly dived into a room for cover. One of the fireworks turned back for her while the other followed Tonks. Tonks turned and shot a curse at it, and the firework exploded, leaving a pile of mess on the floor. Hermione finally managed to blast the last of the fireworks and ran after Tonks, a murderous expression on her face.

The two girls caught up with George at the end of the corridor. George gulped when he saw the hungry glee in their eyes, and he knew for certain he would be the main dish. He hastily shot one of his Instant Darkness Powder at the girls, which, unfortunately, none of them fell for. Both Hermione and Tonks shot a pair of stunning hexes which caught George square in the chest, before diving out of the way of the Instant Darkness Powder.

They both cheered at seeing George's unconscious body on the floor and tied him up.

-OOOOOO-

Hannah reached the third floor and looked around for Sirius. She caught him entering the third room on the right and set of blindly after him. She entered the room and found Sirius sitting in a chair with his back turned to her.

"Hmm, is this it? No clever prank, or well developed plan to escape? I am going to hex you, you know!" Hannah stated as she neared the chair. She turned it around and there was Sirius lying still with his head missing. Hannah's eyes widened and a piercing scream tore from her throat. She ran out of the room and headed for the stairs when it struck her… Hats Headless, one of the Weasley brothers' clever little inventions that were for sale at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes! She had bought one for Halloween.

"SIRIUS!" She raged and turned just in time to see him walk out the door and wink at her before running in the opposite direction. She started running after him while shooting hex after hex. Sirius either dodged or shielded himself, he threw one of the Weasley brothers Portable Swamps at her and she jumped over it. They reached the end of the corridor and Hannah smugly stated. "End of the line prankster!"

"Aw, you're underestimating me again!" was Sirius's smug reply. He tried to get around her, but Hannah jumped in front of him, landing straight on a tiny part of the Portable Swamps. She fell hard on the wooden floor, while Sirius took the other escape root and bolted for the stairs. Hannah picked herself up and shot a stunning hex after him, which got Sirius square in the back. He landed on the floor, a few inches from the stairs with a loud thump. Hannah made her way towards Sirius with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Never underestimate an angry girl!" was Hannah's smug reply as she tied Sirius up.

-OOOOOO-

"How could you!" Minerva roared the moment Sirius and George were woken.

"Au, my ears!" George complained.

"You ruined Harry's birthday! Sirius I would have never thought you capable!" She glared disapprovingly at Sirius.

"Ruined it? I made it more fun!" Sirius stated, but as his eyes searched the room for Harry and saw his miserable expression his heart broke. "Pup I only meant to lighten the mood! I never meant to ruin your birthday party, honestly!" Sirius pleaded, feeling deeply ashamed.

At seeing Sirius's apologetic face Harry couldn't help himself anymore and he burst out laughing. Sirius and George just stared dumbly at him.

"Are you kidding me, that was freaking hilarious, I loved it!" said Harry. "And the chase… You really outdid yourselves." Minerva and the other occupants of the room joined Harry in his laughter.

"It was something to see the girls so willing to murder you. We had to stun them for half an hour, but they came around eventually." said Minerva.

"So are we forgiven?" asked Sirius hopefully.

"Yes. But you still have to clean the mess you made!" said Minerva sternly. The boys nodded.

"Ok time for presents!" boomed Tonks excited.

Minerva released the two Marauders and the group dashed in the ballroom heading straight for the pile of presents. As expected, Harry gave a loud groan at seeing the pile of books from Hermione, while the other occupants of the room (- Draco) rolled their eyes at her. He was delighted at seeing the presents from Sirius, George and Minerva, and egger to try on the Hats Shield, Shield Gloves and the Shield Cloak, from George, and the enchanted watch from Minerva who apparently could locate anyone the user wanted within a 30 mile radius. He was surprised that Draco got him a gift and thanked him. Everybody laughter at seeing Tonks gift, and they rolled their eyes at Luna's. When Hannah explained what the mirror could do, everyone was egger to try it on.

"I'm The Sun!" stated Tonks, at seeing her reflection.

"Let me have a go!" said George as he reached for the mirror. "The Magician! Did you see that?" He handed the mirror to Sirius.

"The Chariot! How fitting!" Sirius beamed. He glared at Draco. "Why don't you take a look?"

Draco, who'd never admit that he wanted to, placed an indifferent expression on his face and took the mirror. "Justice, how peculiar." He said scrutinizing the mirror before handing it to Luna.

"Temperance? Do you think that fits?" asked Luna.

"Why not! With your new personality, it fits perfectly." said Tonks.

"The Hermit! Why douse this sound familiar?" questioned Minerva.

Hermione came to sit down next to her and said. "They're tarot card, all of them from the Major Arcana." She glanced at her own reflection. "See The High Priestess, it's on of them."

"What about The Sacrifice?" asked Hannah.

"Oh that stands for The Hanged Man, another on of the cards from the Major Arcana." answered Hermione. "I don't really know their meaning, since I was so infuriated with Trelawney I didn't study for Divination, but I can look into it."

"Please do!" Hannah said.

"Hey give the birthday boy the mirror two!" said Sirius.

"Alright, you don't have to shout." scolded Hermione as she handed the mirror to Harry.

"The Emperor!" Sirius beamed. "Now_ that's_ a position worthy of my godson!"

"You don't have a godson!" Everybody in the room shouted at Sirius.

"When are you going to get that in your head?" snapped Minerva.

"It's not that easy!" Sirius snapped back. "Harry's been my godson for years. I can't just not see him as such just cause you tell me to!"

"I'm not telling you to _not_ see him as such, just _don't _call him that in public!" said Minerva. "What'll Riddle think if you accidentally call him that in front of him? He'll get suspicious!"

"He'll get suspicious if you know Harry at all!" Draco stated. "Since you'll be in Gryffindor, and Harry'll be in Slytherin-" a pointed glare from Hermione made him add: "-or Ravenclaw, but you can't act like you've met and most of all like you're friends!"

"Why not? Ravenclaw's and Griffindor's aren't rival houses!" said Sirius.

"_If_ he ends up in Slytherin, your friendship will make them hostile and reluctant to accept him. He'll be persecuted by them, and _you_ won't be able to do a thing to stop them." Draco snapped. "And I doubt the Gryffindors will let you of the hook. Do I really have to explain everything to you?"

Sirius was about to retaliate when Harry grabbed his hand. "Stop this!" he sighed. "Will you _please_ just try to take this seriously?" He looked at Sirius with tired eyes and Sirius gave in.

He nodded his head. "Fine! I'll try harder, I won't promise anything, but I'll try!"

"Thank you." Harry stated sighing with relief.

"It has been an eventful night." Minerva said. "And I'm sure we're all tired." Everybody nodded. "Time to sleep!" She stated and everyone slowly got up and dragged their tired legs to bed.


	5. Chapter 04: Surprise, Surprise!

**Chapter 4: Surprise, Surprise!**

The last month had gone by in a rush for the occupants of Muller Manor. George and Sirius had limited their sneaking out attempts to once a week, even if the day was never the same, it still calmed Minerva a little, though the fact that Tonks had joined the Marauders and was currently causing havoc with the two did little to help her migraines. Hannah of course became Tonks's main target, for the soul reason that she liked her. Luna somehow always managed to avoid their traps, something which angered the Marauders to no end. Harry, Draco and Hermione (commonly known to the Marauders as 'The Rebels') had formed an allegiance against them, and it didn't take long for the house to turn into an all out war of pranks. Luckily for Minerva today was the 1st of September, and the war between the two groups would be moving to Hogwarts.

The fact that they had become a little light hearted, and had started to enjoy their new lives did nothing to make them less suspicious or paranoid of Riddle. So on the morning of September the 1st the group had made their first plan of attack. When they reached Kings Cross, they would split up into 3 groups, and board the train at different and irregular intervals. Harry, Hermione and Draco (whom had become uncomfortably close this past month, in Sirius's humble opinion), would board the train at 10 o'clock sharp. Luna and Hannah, accompanied by Minerva would board the train at 10:35-10:40, and Sirius, Tonks and George would board the train 5 minutes before it left.

With the plan memorized and their minds made up, they hopped into the black car they had bought on their recent visit to Diagon Alley, and headed for Kings Cross.

Upon reaching Kings Cross Harry, Hermione and Draco jumped out of the car and headed for the station.

"Why are the three of us going together? Wouldn't it be safer if we went separately?" asked Harry.

"Rowling you dimwit!" Draco scoffed. "We're going together so Riddle won't get suspicious at seeing us interact with someone from another house! One of you two will be a Ravenclaw, who will 'befriend' Luna, who has a sister in Hufflepuff, who will befriend Tonks, who is a Marauder, and therefore friends with our two Gryffindor comrades. And so we can communicate without raising suspicions, understand?"

Harry nodded, while Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Ok you two, stop talking about _that_ here. It's not safe!" She scolded and the two nodded. When they reached the train it was half empty so they found a compartment and settled themselves in, waiting eagerly to arrive at Hogwarts.

20 minutes after they settled themselves in a pale skinned, grey-eyed blond (who just screamed Malfoy) walked in their compartment with a black-haired, black-eyed, fair-skinned girl at his heals.

"Look Jane, first years." He shared a smirk with the Jane girl and then turned back to the children. "Hyperion Malfoy, fifth year prefect." He proudly stated. "And this is Jane Seymour also a prefect. So are any of you interested in joining Slytherin?" He asked while he sat himself across from Hermione.

"I'll look through the other compartments." said Jane and took her leave.

"Actually we all want to make it in Slytherin." said Hermione holding out her hand. "Hermione Elspeth Watson, it's a pleasure." she greeted, a light smirk gracing her face.

Hyperion kissed her hand and smiled mischievously at her. "Really?"

While Draco was quite impressed with Hermione's performance, he didn't trust the girl to handle this conversation to the end and took over. "Yes, it would be the best choice. Though I don't think Ravenclaw is that bad, but Hufflepuff and Gryffindor," he rolled his eyes. "Draco Mikhail Ivanov," he said holding out his hand for the other to shake. "I'm from Russia."

"Russia! A very good country, the Wizarding School there teaches the dark arts. Why did they decide to send you to Hogwarts?" asked Hyperion after shaking Draco's hand.

"They were concerned because of the war, and deemed Hogwarts a much safer place." Draco answered. "I tried convincing them to let me attend Durmstrang, but to no avail."

"And you are?" Hyperion asked puling and arm around Harry's shoulders and glaring down at him.

"Daniel Harrison Rowling, it's a pleasure." Harry answered glaring back at him.

"Nice eyes, you'll be easily remembered with those." Hyperion stated while he let go of Harry and swaggered towards the door. "Hope to see you all in Slytherin." He said as he left.

"Was that your grandfather?" asked Harry after Hyperion left.

"No, the elder brother of my grandfather. My grandfather's Abraxas Malfoy and is in the same year as us." Draco answered. He glanced at Hermione and Harry and stated: "You'd better watch yourselves in front of him. He's not a very friendly person." He warned.

"I guessed as much." said Hermione. "He must want to intimidate the children who want to go to other houses, otherwise I can't see why he'd be patrolling the corridors."

"And trying to pick a fight with the Gryffindors most likely." said Harry.

"Probably," agreed Draco a little distant. He snapped out of his reverie and said: "Hermione you should really go to Ravenclaw!"

"What?" She asked incredulously.

"Well you saw how he reacted to Harry! He likes him! It'd help him a lot if he was in Slytherin, he'd be protected by my grandfather's brother, and he was big stuff back in his day." Draco stated proudly.

"Sorry to disappoint you but last time I checked he liked me too. So don't get your hopes up, I'm not quitting!" stated Hermione with a determined look on her face.

"Fine, have it your way!" Draco said exhausted.

-OOOOOO-

At 10:30 Minerva, Luna and Hannah made their way to the Hogwarts Express. They met the Prewett family on their way and Minerva began a friendly conversation with Aurora Prewett, whose son, Ignatius Prewett, would be starting his first year at Hogwarts. They arrived at the platform at 10: 40 and Minerva kissed the two girls goodbye like any loving mother did. Luna, Hannah and Ignatius went to find a compartment in the mostly full Express, while Minerva and Aurora waited patiently in the station with the other parents to see the train off.

"So you're from France?" Ignatius asked the two girls while peering through the window of a compartment.

"Yes zat iz correct. In my caze at leazt, my sizter was raizd in 'England." Hannah sent him a dazzling smile, and for a moment the poor boy was stuck staring at her.

"Are these places taken?" Luna politely asked a girl who was alone in a compartment.

"Oh! No, you can take them. My friends will find some other place to sit." The girl encouraged.

"Are'u zure? You shouldn't treat your friendz like zat, zey might leave u!" Hannah stated but took the place across from the girl. "Are ou coming Ignazius?" She asked the boy. Luna sat herself next to Hannah.

"Oh! Yes of course." Ignatius snapped out of his daze and entered the compartment. He sat across from Luna.

"Sounds like you don't like your friends very much." Luna said looking intently at the girl. The girl tore her head from the window to give her an assessive look. She had smooth milky-white skin, midnight blue eyes, and straight chocolate-brown hair which reached down to her shoulders.

"No, not really. They're kind of boring, so I'm glad you came to sit with me. I was afraid I'd have to move." She stated smiling at Luna.

Ignatius held out his hand. "My name is Ignatius Prewett. It's a pleasure!"

The girl shook his hand and said. "Minerva McGonagall, likewise!"

"I thought so!" said Luna holding out her hand. "I'm Noelle Luna Bouquet, my friends call me Luna."

Hannah stared dumb folded at the 12-year-old Minerva. "You thought so? What do you mean?" Minerva asked.

"I have a friend who was in Gryffindor and finished last year, I don't think you'll remember him, but he said he liked you." Luna answered politely.

"Oh! You're right I wouldn't remember any of the 7th years, but I'm glad to know they liked me." Minerva turned to Hannah. "And you are?"

Hannah snapped out of her daze and flashed Minerva a smile. "Helene Ana Bouquet, Luna'z zister. 'Ou can call me Anne."

"Sure will." Minerva grinned at them. "Well the three of you look like interesting people. Any chance you'll be in Gryffindor?"

"We are not very familiar wit zis sorting system." Hannah said.

"Yes, I was just about to explain." said Ignatius.

"Oh, let me! Since I'm your senior and all." Ignatius nodded his head and Minerva began talking. "At Hogwarts the first thing you do is get sorted into one of the 4 houses. These are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Gryffindor is my house and if you want my personal opinion, I'm not too proud of it, I should have let the hat put me in Ravenclaw, but alas I was stubborn. The Gryffindors are very brave, but also very foolish. The boy's are gentlemen, most of the times, and united, when it's for causing trouble." She shook her head. "The girls are boring! They talk all day long about boys, like their only purpose in life is getting married. And they're very subdued; they'd listen to anything a guy says, like they have no personality at all. So naturally I find such low level creatures boring." Hannah was a little shocked at hearing Minerva complain about her house, she always assumed the elder witch was quite proud of it. "The Ravenclaws are the nerds of the group. In a strange sort of way I'm glad I didn't get sorted in there, those guys are only interested in their books, no connection to real life." She rolled her eyes. "The Slytherins are nasty little buggers, and the Hufflepuffs… well they're nice, but a little too nice for my taste." She stopped to look at them, a plastic smile on her face. "So which house do you think you'll end up in?"

Ignatius sank in his seat. "That's not what my father told me. They all sound bad!"

"I think I'll let the hat decide." said Luna confidently. "But thank you…Minerva for the lovely introduction." She smiled sweetly at her.

"You're welcome!" grinned Minerva. "And you?"

"I zink I'll follow my zister'z lead." Hannah answered, smiling faintly at her.

"Ok! Anybody up for a game of exploding snap?" Minerva asked, and the kids nodded.

-OOOOOO-

"Sirius you idiot, we'll lose the train!" Tonks complained while rushing at top speed towards the Hogwarts express which was already moving.

"No we won't!" Said Sirius confidently as he caught hold of one of the train's bars, and jumped on the train. "Quick, give me your hand!" He held out his arm for Tonks who grabbed it and pulled her on the train. "George!" Sirius screamed for George, who was far behind. "Hurry!"

"George!" Tonks screamed when she saw that the train was leaving George behind. "Someone stop this stupid thing!"

Sirius wasted no time. He went in the lobby and struggled to get through the masses of students who were waving good-bye to their parents. He got to the other end of the compartment and rushed out the door. He was just in time to grab George by the collar and drag him inside the train. Tonks followed shortly after. "George, are you alright?" Tonks asked.

"Just a little strangled, but yes I'm alright." said George while rubbing delicately at his injured neck. Tonks glared at Sirius.

"Sorry mate but it was the only way to pull you on the train." said Sirius apologetically.

"Think nothing of it. Now," George sat up. "Let's go find a compartment!"

Minerva glared disapprovingly at them. She had told the Marauders to be on the train 5 minutes _before_ it left, not 5 minutes after. Would those three ever be able to do anything without making a show of themselves? She rolled her eyes and headed with Aurora towards the exit.

There wasn't a single compartment empty, all the places were taken. So Sirius, Tonks and George were still in the lobby searching for a less crowded compartment.

"Damn it! Why are there so many kids going to Hogwarts? They weren't so many in my days!" whined Sirius.

Tonks smacked him across the head. "There is no 'my days'! _This_ is you're first year, remember!"

"Oh yeah, sorry!" said Sirius.

"Hey! Look, there's only one kid here," said George peeking through the window of a compartment. He opened the door to the compartment and asked. "Mind if we sit here? Everywhere else is full."

The boy lifted his head from his copy of _Hogwarts a History_ to look at him. He was a handsome fellow, with pale skin, dark eyes and jet-black hair. He bore a slight resemblance to Harry, thought George. The boy studied them closely, and then lowered his head. "You can sit here." He said quietly. "If you want."

"Thanks!" was George's grateful reply.

The three Marauders seated themselves. Tonks took the seat next to the boy, Sirius sat across from Tonks and George sat across from the boy.

"Finally!" Sirius whispered. "I thought we'd have to stand the whole trip."

Tonks ignored Sirius in favour of the boy. She tried to start a conversation with him.

"You're a handsome one aren't ya? I bet you'll be an eye catcher." She smiled widely.

The boy turned to look at her. He studied her closely. "Thanks." He finally said, and turned back to his book. "But I'd rather not."

Sirius did not take too well to Tonks's ignorance, and started chatting with George about the pranks they could pull at Hogwarts. "George what do you say if at the start of the feast we set the teacher's table on fire?"

"Sounds good, except we don't have time to prepare." George said. "But maybe on Halloween!"

Tonks was disappointed by the lack of cooperation she was getting from the boy, so she tried again. "The name's Pandora Marilyn Tonks! You can call me whatever you like, even Tonks. Actually I'm quite fond of that name."

"How bout we charm the sorting hat while one of us gets sorted to say: 'You're a squib' to however follows?" George suggested.

Sirius grinned. "Sounds good. Let's do it!"

At this the boy looked up. "If you want to charm the sorting hat just for that, I'd suggest you don't do it. You'd definitely get caught."

"Oh yeah, and why is that?" asked Sirius.

"Firstly because you'd need your wand to do that, if you're not proficient at wandless magic that is, and I think only an idiot wouldn't see you charm the hat. Even _if_ you manage to cast the charm successfully, _you'__d_be the first suspect, seeing as you were the last to get sorted, so if you want to charm the hat you'd better charm it so it will say 'You're a squib' _after_ several other students have been sorted. And finally" He held up the book Hogwarts a History. "If you would have bothered to read this then you would have known that the hat can read your mind, see you want to charm it, and tell the Headmaster, so the safest way to accomplish this task would be to create a diversion, and charm the hat _before_ you're turn, preferably, a few good set of students before your turn. You'd still get caught though, when it's your turn. So frankly, if I was going to get caught anyways…I'd rather charm the hat in saying something more _entertaining_, like: The Headmaster is dumb, or I eat children's brains for dinner or something along that line." finished the boy with a wave of his hand.

Sirius considered this. "He's right you know." He said to George.

"Yeah, it'll be too embarrassing to start our reign of mayhem and mischief by getting caught on the first day, and worse, getting caught doing something stupid." stated George.

"You're a smart fellow aren't ya? We'd be glad to have you join our little group." said Sirius extending his hand. "I'm Kedrick Swartz, but people call me Sirius."

"Weird! That's quite the opposite of what I'd imagine you to be." said the boy shaking his hand.

"Believe me it is." said Tonks.

"Gregory Mockswell, friends call me George. And I'm not joking." said George with a grin.

The boy shuck George's hand and said: "Tom Riddle, it's a pleasure to meet you."

The three Marauders froze at hearing the name. The smiles still deeply carved on their faces. Sirius panicked inside though. _Tom Riddle_. Of all the students they could have met it had to be _him_.

George didn't even know what to say. It felt just like time had stopped for him in that very moment. He was still holding on to Tom's hand, granted a little tighter that before, but all the same. The smile was still carved on his face, but his mind was racing. This was Tom Riddle he was shaking hands with. He was sharing a compartment with Tom Riddle. He was _talking_ with Tom Riddle. He had to be very careful with what he said, and what the others said from now one.

Tonks was shocked. She silently cursed Dumbledore, Harry, Minerva, and all the others who knew how Tom Riddle looked like and hadn't shown her so she wouldn't be in this mess. Sure Minerva had told them he was handsome, a real eye catcher, and sure Harry had said he looked a lot like himself, but they had never expected to knock face first into him, right on the Hogwarts Express! What were the odds of that happening? And SIRIUS! _Now_ Tonks was panicking. The big oaf would certainly let something slip. And George would certainly attract unwanted attention if he held on to the boy's hand for much longer.

Tonks yanked Riddle's hands from George's grip and pulled him towards her. Only then did George realize he was holding on to the boy and he quickly searched his mind for an excuse. "Sorry bout that. I had a friend named Tom who died a few weeks ago, I didn't mean to."

But it seemed that had been the wrong thing to say when he saw Riddle's eyes harden. He composed himself within the next second and turned to regard Tonks curiously. Tonks cursed her luck when she saw those deep dark eyes burning into hers. Her cheeks heat up; she turned to looked away and dropped his hands. "Sorry, it's just that I thought you were getting uncomfortable."

He nodded his head still looking intently at her; the slightest trace of a smirk passed his face before he covered it up. He turned to look at George, a sympathetic look on his face. "I'm sorry for your loss." He said and turned back to his book.

George just stud there, all trace of a smile gone from his face. _I'm sorry for your loss._ It played like a broken record in his mind. _How dare he!_ was all that passed through his head. _How _dare_ he say something so untrue? He wasn't sorry! He would have killed them all again! Ginny, Ron, Fred, Neville, Cedric, all of them! How could he!_ He was glaring at Riddle, the hate clearly visible on his face. He wanted to lash out at him, strangle him and tear his body apart limb by limb. But before his thoughts could get any nastier Sirius grabbed him roughly by the hand and dragged him into the lobby.

"What the hell do you think you're doing glaring at him like that? If he had lifted his face just a little, he would have seen you!" Sirius scolded him in a nearly silent voice.

George was shaking with anger. "He kills my brothers and you expect me to act nice?"

"Yes, that's right! I expect you to act like you don't know or hate him, because you _don't_!" said Sirius in a stern voice.

"How can you asking me to do that?" asked George incredulously.

"If you're not up for the job, then why did you take it?" Sirius asked acidly. "You _knew_ this would happen! You _knew_ who you'd be meeting, who you'd be _befriending_! If you want to turn back now's the chance! Jump off the train and go sit with Minerva at home, because from now on" Sirius threatened "operation convert Tom Riddle begins! So chose!" Sirius turned and started walking back towards the compartment.

"How can you endure this?" George asked him.

"I was an Auror!" Sirius stated. "I've been through worse."

-OOOOOO-

Tonks was cursing the two Marauders for leaving her alone with Riddle, but she knew she had to do something; after all they _had_ come here for Riddle. It wouldn't do to ignore him.

"Tom Riddle, hmm, what an interesting name." She said nervously. When no reply came Tonks turned to glare at Riddle. He was at the last page of the book she noticed. "If I'm bothering you, you can tell me and I'll stop." She said a little pissed at being ignored.

Riddle closed his book and said. "No, you're not bothering me, it's just that I was at the last page and I wanted to finish it." He put his book aside and gave Tonks a dazzling smile. "I didn't mean to be rude Pandora. Will you accept my sincere apology?"

Tonks was a little dizzy at the time and could only nod her head. Lucky for her the compartment door swung open and in came Sirius and George.

"Sorry bout leaving you." said Sirius. "We were kind of hungry so we went looking for the trolley lady. But she whisked us away." He grinned. "Did we miss anything?" He sat himself across from Riddle and George took the seat across from Tonks.

"No we were waiting for you." Tonks said a little more composed.

"Ok then! Tom Riddle was it? Where do you live? I mean I never heard of a pure-blood wizard with the name of Riddle before." Sirius asked.

"In London at an orphanage, I never met my parents." He stated nonchalantly.

"Oh, sorry bout that." said Sirius apologetically.

"Why should you be? You're not the one who killed them, and you didn't even know them." He stated scrutinizing Sirius with a glare.

"Oh, well, I _might_ have known them. Who knows? I might have bumped into them on the street and forgotten. And it _is_ nice to offer your condolence to somebody, _even if_ you just met them. Didn't you do the same to George here?" Sirius said.

"I suppose so. What about you? Where are you from?" asked Riddle.

"I was born in Germany, but my parents moved immediately after the war against Grindelwald began." Sirius stated. "Do you know who Grindelwald is?"

"Not really." admitted Tom. "I only found out I was a wizard a few days ago."

"Mm Hmm, then let me tell you a little bout him." Sirius offered. "You see, he is a wizard, from Germany, who…"

Tonks and George were following the conversation with awe. Both of them had certainly deemed Sirius as the biggest threat of exposure, but here he was, talking to Riddle in a completely controlled and light voice, as if he had nothing to hide. He was blabbing about the family and friends he never had, the time he never knew, without letting anything suspicious or compromising slip.

George and Tonks relaxed after a few more minutes and joined in the conversation. As they were getting nearer to Hogwarts it was getting harder and harder for the group to imagine the cheerful and lively boy as anything remotely related to the snake-faced bastard of their time. But then Tonks wondered. _If we hadn't been here, would Riddle be sitting all alone in this compartment?_ She felt a wave of pity for the other boy. _No one deserves to be left alone_. She thought and decided she would do anything she could to make the boy feel accepted.

-OOOOOO-

The Hogwarts Express arrived in Hogsmeade and the children walked onto the platform, excitement written on their faces.

The Marauders and Tom were still caught in their conversation and didn't even notice the stunned look Harry gave them as they passed by.

"That's Tom Riddle!" Harry stated. Both Draco and Hermione turned to look at him.

"Where?" They asked in unison. Both of them wanted to know what their enemy looked like and be prepared.

"There with Sirius, Tonks and George!" He pointed towards the group. Hermione and Draco followed his stare and there they were. Sirius was on the left side of a very handsome boy, while Tonks was on the right side arm linked with Riddle and on her right was George. The four of them seemed to be animatedly talking and laughing about one thing or another. The trio panicked.

"Do you think they know who they're dealing with?" Hermione asked close to a panic attack.

"They're not that stupid, they know his name!" Draco was trying to reassure himself and the others.

"Yeah they're definitely not that dim-witted…" Whatever Harry was about to say was caught up in his thought as the second surprise of the evening came straight at him in full blow. He was left awestruck. Was he just imagining it? The light brown hair… the grey eyes…that unmistakable face that was glaring at him as if he had seen a ghost. He was sure he had the same expression carved on his face but… _Could it be?_

"Harry what's wrong?" Asked Hermione a little worried. She followed Harry's gaze and was struck silent. There, standing a few paces away was a figure so reminiscent of an old friend who had tragically been killed in their forth year. Cedric Diggory.

For a moment they just glared at each other, up until Draco got tired of their silence and said. "What's gotten into you? You look like you've seen a ghost!" But the two weren't listening they started walking, without realizing, heading towards the boy who could be no older then eleven. He started walking towards them too, which frustrated Draco to no end. "Hey they're calling for the first years!" He said but walked behind them. The four met in the middle and only now did Draco get a closer look at what was it actually that his two friends were gaping at. "Diggory?" He asked awestruck. That seemed to break the other three out of their trance.

"Cedric?" both Harry and Hermione asked uncertain.

"Harry? Hermione? What are you doing here?" But he didn't care, not really. A true smile that could bright up the darkest of nights appeared on his face and he hugged the two fiercely. Hermione and Harry hugged him back just as fierce, with tears sparkling in their eyes.

They broke apart and then the questions began. "How did you get here?" "What happened to you?" "Where are the others?" "Why do you look like that?" None of them seemed to know which was asking the questions. They all had huge and stupid grins on their faces, and couldn't care much for the rest of the world. That up until Draco decided he'd had enough.

"Yeah, as tearful and disgustingly heart breaking as this reunion is, if we don't hurry, the guy there's going to leave us behind!"

That was all it took for Hermione's brain to start working properly. "He's right!" she said and Draco countered with a "Well of course I am!" but nobody gave him the time of day. "We have to pretend we don't know each other!"

"What…?" Cedric began to ask but was cut of by Hermione.

"_Don't_ ask any questions! It's not safe here! We'll meet tonight. I'll send you an owl with the location. Now get a move on! MOVE!" She ordered.

"What? Why?" Cedric seemed confused but Harry pushed him forward.

"You have to go! _Please_ trust me on this one! It's for our own good. We'll speak tonight. Ok?"

Cedric looked troubled for a while, but nodded his head and left the trio.

"Come on we have to go too!" said Draco. The trio headed for the boats and Hermione couldn't help but hope that she could somehow tell Hannah about this before she had a heart attack.

-OOOOOO-

The ride with the boats was as exhilarating for the kids as it had been the first time and they couldn't help _ohh_-ing and _ahh_-ing with the rest of the first years.

The kids arrived at the entrance hall where they were met with another familiar figure, one whom fortunately they knew would meet, Albus Dumbledore. The man who had brought them, Herbert Beery, their Herbology teacher, entrusted the kids to Dumbledore and disappeared inside the great hall.

Hermione was desperately trying to find Hannah, and alert her of Cedric's presence before the girl had a stroke, and the Marauders, to make sure they weren't being too friendly with the would-be Lord Voldemort. And she spotted them.

The Marauders were packed around Tom Riddle talking as animatedly as before. She spotted Hannah and Luna too. They were with a boy who strongly reminded her of Ron. She pulled on Harry and Draco's sleeves and pointed towards the Marauders group. "Make sure they don't get into trouble!" She whispered to the two as she started to make her way towards Hannah. She froze in place when she saw Cedric only a few paces away. He was looking at her so he hadn't spotted Hannah, and Hannah was to busy talking to the Ron look-alike to see him. She beckoned Cedric to her and hoped against hope that Hannah wouldn't see him.

Unfortunately for her fate didn't want things to go so smoothly. As soon as Dumbledore cleared his voice Hannah lifted her head and her eyes came to rest straight on the figure of Cedric Diggory, who was still oblivious to her presence, but all the same, she fainted on the spot, and Hermione cursed her bad luck.

Ron's look-alike caught Hannah before she hit the ground and the kids all turned to look at what had caused the commotion. Cedric spotted (and recognized) Hannah immediately and was about to run to her but Hermione caught him. "Don't please!"

"But Hermione, that's Han…" Cedric began protesting but was cut off.

"Please trust me on this one." She pleaded as she dragged Cedric from the crowd towards Draco and Harry. The two boys of course hadn't managed to get to the Marauders because they and Riddle disappeared in the crowd after the commotion had started. Yep lady luck was definitely not on their side!

-OOOOOO-

I'd like to thank '.Terror' for beta-ing this chapter.


	6. Chapter 05: The Evil Sorting Hat

**Chapter 5: The Evil Sorting Hat**

"Make way please!" Dumbledore said as he tried to get past the crowd of first years.

Luna saw Dumbledore make his way towards them and quickly pulled out her wand. "Enervate!" She said and Hannah snapped her eyes open.

"Where..." She looked around confused.

"It's alright Sis'! There was no spider! You must still be tired from the trip." Luna said when she saw Dumbledore a few strides away from them.

Hannah turned to look at Luna, a perplexed expression on her face. "I…I, think you're right." She managed to say holding her head. Luna panicked when she heard the other girl not using her French accent, but luckily for her Ignatius was a tad too preoccupied with holding her to hear what she was saying.

"Is everything alright?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes professor!" Luna said. "My sister has arachnophobia, she faints at the sight of spiders and I think she mistook the crack in the wall for a spider."

"Oh, is that true?" Ignatius asked, and helped Hannah lift herself of the floor.

"Yez, can't stand the sight of zem." Hannah said distantly. She grabbed a hold of Luna and said. "Can I pleaz go to zi bat'room?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Straight ahead, first door on the right." He told them and let the girls go. "Now if the rest of you would kindly wait here while I have a word with the Headmaster." He made his way in the great hall.

"Hmm, I didn't see her looking at the crack in the wall when she fainted." Said Riddle.

"Then where was she looking?" Asked Tonks curiously.

"Over there, at that boy!" He pointed straight towards Cedric Diggory, who was talking quietly with Hermione, Draco and Harry. The Marauders panicked. They hadn't even seen Riddle look in Hannah's direction, but at the sight of Cedric, Sirius knew he was the real reason why the girl had fainted. He was having a hard time standing straight himself. "The boy tried to reach her, but the girl over there-" he pointed at Hermione. "- held him back. I think I saw her pointing at us earlier." He said distantly.

"Well we are a group of good looking guys; it would only be natural for her to remark us." Sirius said praying that his voice didn't sound as panicky to Riddle as it sounded to him. Apparently it did.

Riddle turned to look at him. "Do you know her?" He asked scrutinizing Sirius.

"Know? No! I don't…I mean I don't remember meeting her." He laughed nervously.

"You could have met her in Diagon Alley and forgotten." Suggested George just as nervous.

"Yeah, that could be it! You'll see. This oaf might forget who we are tomorrow." Tonks exclaimed. Riddle just nodded his head.

"So how bout that prank we were talking bout earlier?" asked George.

While Riddle still looked suspicious he apparently let it rest and the conversation turned to much lighter and less dangerous topics.

-OOOOOO-

"Did you see him?" Hannah asked Luna the moment they entered the bathroom. "Please tell me you saw him, tell me that I'm not going crazy!" She asked pleadingly and splashed a handful of cold water on her face.

"Yes I saw him!" Luna assured her. "I saw Hermione come and drag him away."

"But I don't understand! Why is he here? Wasn't he dead?" Hannah asked exasperatedly.

"Yes, he was…" Luna said distantly. "I think we'd better ask him if he remembers anything. But now," She turned to look at her. "Now we have to go back to the others and act as if nothing's wrong. And please remember that you're supposed to be French!"

Hannah nodded her head. "I'm sorry. It just that…I really liked Cedric, not just as a house mate. If you would have known him!" Luna held up her hand to silence her.

"I understand, remember, you're not the only one who lost someone they cared for. But that part's over, let's not screw this up. Ok?"

Hannah nodded her head, the color slowly returning to her face. "Ok, let's go." She said in a small voice.

-OOOOOO-

When Hannah and Luna returned to the group of first years they saw Dumbledore and the others waiting for them. Ignatius waved at them and the girls made their way towards him.

"Are you feeling better, my dear?" Dumbledore asked Hannah in his grandfatherly voice.

"Yez, I'm much betzar." She managed to smile weakly at him.

"Good! Now if you'd be so kind as to follow me into the great hall, we can begin the sorting ceremony." Dumbledore addressed the students and opened the doors to the great hall.

The kids entered the great hall with Dumbledore leading them. Hermione noticed that nothing had changed in the past 50 years, well except for the ever changing ceiling, at which's sight the children marveled.

"It's like there's no roof!" One boy to her far left said.

When they reached the sorting hat the headmaster Armando Dippet rouse from his seat and began him start of term speech.

"Welcome," He said "Welcome my dear student, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." He stated eying all the student in the hall. "As most of you know, but it won't hurt to remind you no magic should be used between classes in the corridors." He stated glaring at the Gryffindor and Slytherin table. "With that said, let the sorting begin!" He finished and took his seat.

"Now," Dumbledore began. "When I call out you're name, you will come forth and place the sorting hat on." He pulled a scroll out of his pocket and began reading. "Ackerley, Stewart" A bald boy with black eyes stepped forward and placed on the hat. After a few moments the hat shouted "RAVENCLAW" and the Ravenclaw table (which was located between the Slytherin and Hufflepuff table), burst into cheers.

"Belby, Marcus" – RAVENCLAW

"Bones, Edgar" – HUFFLEPUFF

"Boot, Terrell" – RAVENCLAW

"Branstone, Eleanor" – HUFFLEPUFF

"Bouquet, Noelle" Luna stepped forward and put on the hat.

'Ah, what's this? A student I already sorted. Interesting, yes very interesting, indeed. And it seems you're not the only one. Now were shall I put you?'

Luna waited patiently after all she knew she would be a Ravenclaw just like last time. 'Are you sure?' the hat asked chuckling slightly. 'You were a great Ravenclaw candidate the last time, I admit, but now… Now you have the potential to choose another house, a house that most of your friends might make.'

'Oh, really?' Asked Luna nervously. 'And which might that be?'

'Gryffindor, of course. You are smart, indeed, but I see that I was hasty the last time I placed you in Ravenclaw. As I've said, you have changed. Your heart no longer holds the thirst for knowledge that you possessed 6 years ago, no; it has hardened to become that of a lion. You are noble and brave, my dear girl, a true Gryffindor at heart, so I will place you in-'

'WAIT! You can't do that!' Luna was desperate. If she was placed in Gryffindor…

'Yes, that would be a major inconvenience to your plans, but they are of no concern to me. I am the sorting hat, my job is to sort students to their rightful house, and I fear Ravenclaw will simply not do for you.'

'What if I prove myself?' Luna desperately asked in an attempt to convince the hat. 'What if I prove to you that I am worthy of the name Ravenclaw. If you sort me in there I will do my best to make the students and teachers remember why Ravenclaw is the house of wisdom! I will not give up, nor will I let anyone pull me down. I'll prove that I'm the best, just give me a chance!'

The hat chuckled slightly. 'Very well. I hope you keep your promises, because I will not forget. Then let it be RAVENCLAW!' Luna sight with relief while she took of the hat and made her way to the Ravenclaw table.

"Bouquet, Helene" Hannah made her way towards Dumbledore, wondering what could have taken the hat so much to place Luna in Ravenclaw. She shrugged it of and put on the hat.

'Ah, the second one. You were a Hufflepuff in your time and yes, I would have no trouble in placing you there, but, are you sure you don't want to be sorted else where?'

'What do you mean?' Hannah asked uncertainly.

'Well my dear, you already know how it was in Hufflepuff, wouldn't you want to know how it is in another house?' the hat asked.

'No! If you forgot a very important trait about us Hufflepuffs is that we're loyal! And I'm loyal to my house, so get it over with and send me where I belong!' Hannah scolded the hat.

'That's the first time someones beaten me in an argument.' The hat chuckled. 'You are an interesting person. And a true HUFFLEPUFF!' The hat shouted and Hannah took it of with a smile that left half the occupants in the room dazzled, and headed for the Hufflepuff table, who was roaring with cheers.

"Cullen, Edward" Dumbledore said.

"Who's that?" Hermione asked. "Miss Muller didn't mention the name."

"Yeah, sorry, forgot to tell you." Cedric said. "I don't go by the name Cedric Diggory anymore." And he made his way towards Dumbledore.

Hermione and Harry were staring at him. 'Well of course!' Hermione thought. 'He wouldn't have the same name as he did in our time.' She sighed as Cedric, no Edward was sorted into Hufflepuff.

Edward walked slowly to the Hufflepuff table, his eyes fixed on Hannah. She patted the seat next to hers and he sat down. "Hi!" She said with a tear full smile.

"Hi!" He answered grinning broadly at her.

"I was right!" Tom said.

Tonks turned to look at him. "Bout what?"

"About her!" He pointed at Hannah and Edward.

"Oh!" The Marauders panicked. Those two were so getting them into trouble. "Yeah well, maybe they know each other." Sirius said as a girl named Damon, Rosalie was sorted into Slytherin.

Tom turned away from them as a girl named "Ebelthite, Cintia" was called to the front, and the Marauders sighed in relief. "RAVENCLAW" the hat shouted, and the girl made her way to the table.

"Greengrass, Demeter" – HUFFLEPUFF

"Heart, Angelica" – GRYFFINDOR

"Finally!" George said. "I thought it'd be only Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws this year."

"This year?" Tom looked at him strangely and George cursed himself.

"Well it was getting kind of ridiculous." He said as "Hartley, Arthur" was sorted into HUFFLEPUFF. "See what I mean!" George said pointing at the boy.

"Hmm, you do have a point." Tom said just as the name "Ivanov, Draco" was shouted.

Draco walked confidently towards the hat and was surprised when the hat didn't shout Slytherin when it touched his head. He waited patiently. What was taking the hat so long?

'Hmm, the forth one. Yes, you are the most interesting one of them all!' The hat chuckled and Draco scoffed.

'Now listen here you,' Draco began. 'I don't have time for this mumbo jumbo, so sort me already and let's get it over with!'

The hat laughed evilly and said. 'Are you sure you want to be so hasty? The end results might not be as…pleasant as you expect them to be.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Draco scowled. Was it possible that the hat wanted to sort him in another house? No, that couldn't be. Could it?

'Oh, but it is!' The hat stated in a menacing voice. 'You, my dear, are far more suited for Gryffindor at the moment then your precious Slytherin, granted you still have the obnoxious attitude, but still…risking yourself for others, helping the weak, protecting students from those in power… have you ever thought, that maybe somewhere along the way you've changed?'

Draco froze at hearing those words. He couldn't be a bloody Gryffindor! No there was NO way he would be a bloody Gryffindor, not if he could help it. 'I don't want it!' He stated determined.

'Hmm, and here I thought I was the sorting hat.' The hat scowled at him. 'I'm not going to do what a student asks of me!'

'Please! You _can't_ send me there! I don't want to go there! I'm not meant for it.' Draco was desperate. The soul concept of him being a Gryffindor made him sick to his stomach. No! He would _not_ be a Gryffindor.

'Why?' The hat asked truly curious. 'Have you ever considered the possibility that Gryffindor might actually be the house for you? After all, let's not remember the good it brought you the last time that you were sorted in Slytherin.'

That stung. Oh, yes, Draco did remember. How could he forget? The hell that was his sixth year, the overwhelming feeling of loneliness, the death of his only friend, the constant threat of betrayal, his parent's death, Azkaban…things that were carved deeply into his soul, he hadn't forgotten them, he never would. Even if it had been nice these couple of weeks, he had made friends, true friends and he liked them…yes even George and Sirius, they were like the annoying older brother he never had. He always considered Tonks a bit mother like, even though he had loved Narcissa, Tonks was…special. Hannah was like the sister he never had. Harry and Hermione were his friends, true friends, the kind you could trust to watch your back. And Luna…he started liking her ever since last year, as something more then a friend.

'And you could have friends! More then that, you could be accepted for who you are! Not for what you pretend to be.' The hat said. 'Take Gryffindor! And you'll have everything you've ever wanted.'

'No.' Draco answered in a quiet voice. 'I'll admit, everything you said is…tempting, very tempting. But you failed to grasp one important thing.' Draco stated sadly. 'I'd be lying to them, even if I would be a Gryffindor. They'd accept Draco Ivanov, not Draco Malfoy. I'd still have to wear a mask, no matter where I'd go. At least,' He said in a resigned voice. 'In Slytherin, I'd be doing something good. Something for the benefit of the ones I now consider my family!' The hat felt the determination in his mind and nodded approvingly. 'So, hand me my verdict!'

'What a shame, I'd almost overrule you.' The hat chuckled. 'Very well, let it be SLYTHERIN!' The hat shouted, and Draco took it of, resigned to his fate. He walked forward towards the Slytherin table where Hyperion Malfoy had held him a seat.

"Glad to see you made it." He said. "Let's hope your other friends will to."

"Yeah, lets." Draco said but on the instead he wanted anything but. He wanted Harry to end up in Gryffindor and Hermione in Ravenclaw, anywhere but here.

"Lestrange, Leonisius" – SLYTHERIN

"Longbottom, Christine" – GRYFFINDOR

"Malfoy, Abraxas" – SLYTHERIN

Hyperion cheered. "Oho, that's my little brother for ya! Nice job kiddo."

"Stop it Ryo, you're embarrassing me!" Abraxas scoffed the moment he reached the table. "So who's the new kid?"

"Draco something, I met him on the train." Hyperion said will clapping Draco on the back.

"Mockswell, Gregory" Everyone turned to look the moment Dumbledore shouted the name.

"Mockswell? He can't be serious!" Said Hyperion, but Draco smirked

Yep George liked the attention. 'Take a good look, cause after I'm finished with this school, things will never be the same again.' He said as he took the hat from Dumbledore. He thought he saw the annoying twinkle appear in the old mans eyes just before his vision was clouded by the old and rusty hat.

'A little bit more respect for your elders wouldn't hurt.' The hat complained.

'What, you're my elder? You're just a hat!' George stated.

'Watch your mouth lad I can place you in Slytherin, just for the heck of it!' The hat threatened.

'So what?' George said. 'I'll just start my reign of havoc from over there.' He shrugged it off. And the hat knew he was serious.

'You're an interesting fellow, every one of you are. Very well, let it be GRYFFINDOR! Now get out of my sight!'

'Sure will!' George sniggered as he took of the hat and made his way to the Gryffindor table.

"Parkinson, Virginia" – SLYTHERIN

"Prewett, Ignatius" – GRYFFINDOR

Ignatius was a tad disappointed that he didn't make it in one of the houses of his favorite twins, but as he reached the Gryffindor table and saw the smile on Minerva's face, he considered that life wasn't so bad. After all, it's not like the twins were Slytherins.

"Riddle, Tom" Dumbledore shouted.

"It's finally your turn Tom." Tonks cheered. "Good luck!" She squeezed his hand encouragingly.

Sirius grinned and patted him on the back. "Go get them tiger!"

"What house do you want to be in?" Tom asked nervously.

Sirius glared. "Riddle, Tom" Dumbledore said again.

"I don't know I-"

"Give me a presumption, anything!" Tom looked desperate now. And Dumbledore was getting a little annoyed as he said "Tom Riddle"

"Gryffindor." Sirius answered.

"Tom!" Dumbledore said a little more sternly and Tom turned to look at him. "Have you decided on abandoning us perhaps?"

"No!" Tom said as he walked forward. "Just a little confused." He took the had from Dumbledore and as their eyes met Dumbledore thought he saw something in there that he hadn't seen in the orphan he'd meet a few days ago.

Tom turned to look at Sirius and Tonks and spared a quick glance in George's direction before putting on the hat.

The hat burst into laughter. 'What? What's so funny?' Tom asked fuming.

'Oh…I'm…sorry,' the hat managed to say between giggles. 'Life really,' it said a little more composed. 'Life and how a few hours, a few precious moments that you only lived in your dreams can change a man so much. Ah, the irony of it all.' The hat sigh sadly.

'So are you going to sort me? If it's possible I'd like to be sorted in Gryffindor.' Tom asked weekly.

'I know.' The hat said gravely. 'But I'm afraid it isn't. You see one day isn't really enough to change a man, not truly, so I am sorry, but no, I'll place you in SL-'

'WAIT! You can't place me there; the Slytherins and Gryffindors have been rivals for ever. George and Sirius would hate me!' Tom desperately begged the hat.

'I'm sure they won't. SLYTHERIN' The hat shouted and remained silent. Tom made no attempt to take down the hat or get up. After a moment Dumbledore took down the hat and patted Tom on the shoulder.

"Tom, would you kindly make your way to your table, please."

Tom nodded his head and sat up. He started walking numbly towards the Slytherin table. 'Why should I be surprise?' He thought miserably. 'It was too good to last.'

"Sirius, he doesn't look to good!" Tonks stated.

"I know. D'you think it's my fault?" Sirius asked worried.

"Nah, it couldn't be! Could it?" Sirius just shrugged.

"Rowling, Daniel" Dumbledore shouted and Harry stalked forward and placed the hat on his head. He had seen the expression on Riddle's face countless of times. It was an exact replicate of the one he wore when he was living with the Dursleys. 'Sorry Hermione, but you're not meant for this.'

'And you're right.' The hat stated. 'I'd sooner place that Hannah girl in Slytherin then her. Well on your way then. SLYTHERIN' The hat shouted and Harry took it of in a haste. He reached Tom before the boy got to the table and grabbed him by the elbow.

"Come on, you don't wanna be left behind now do you?" Tom glared at him, but quickened his pace. Harry turned back to look at Hermione, an apologetic expression on his face. The girl was glaring daggers at him, so he lowered his face. He took the seat besides Draco and Tom sat down next to him.

"I knew you'd make it." Hyperion winked at him and turned to glare at Riddle.

"Thanks." Harry was looking at Riddle to, a perplexed expression on his face. 'Why was Riddle so down about? He made it to Slytherin didn't he?'

"Swartz, Kedrick" Dumbledore shouted and Tom lifted his head to see Sirius walk forward and place the hat on.

'Oh, the…Oh, forget it I forgot which number you were.' Said the hat exasperatedly.

'Excuse me?' Sirius asked confused.

'You want to go to Gryffindor right?' Asked the hat a little bored.

'Of course I want to go to Gryffindor, where else would I want to go?' Sirius said.

'I don't know. Maybe to Slytherin where your godson and your new friend are. Or to Hufflepuff were your girlfriend is, or just plain old Ravenclaw for the hell of it.'

'Em, did I do something?' Asked Sirius.

'No, I'm thinking of the best way to annoy you.' The hat stated simply.

'What? Annoy me? Why?' Sirius asked stunned.

'Oh, just for the hell of it. I think I might place you in Slytherin, what do you say?' The hat asked chuckling.

'You're EVIL!' Sirius stated.

'What? Is that the best you can do?' The hat asked outraged. 'Yeah, you Gryffindors were never too good on the insult side, were you?'

Sirius glared, which was kind of difficult seeing as he had a hat over his eyes. 'Are you gonna sort me or not?'

'Eh, fine, go to your GRYFFINDOR' the hat replied in a bored tome.

'EVIL!' Sirius shouted one last time before puling the hat of and sprinting towards the Gryffindor table.

"Tayler, Mary-Anne" – GRYFFINDOR

"Tonks, Pandora" Tonks bounced up to the hat and placed it on.

'Au, you're too cute to tease HUFFLEPUFF' the hat said. And Tonks wondered what it meant before she shrugged it of and danced to the Hufflepuff table. She took her seat besides Edward and Hannah.

"Watson, Hermione"

Hermione stalked forward, determined to give that hat a piece of her mind. She put the hat on and roared. 'You insufferable, evil, mean, ignorant _hat_!' She spat the name. 'I was supposed to be sorted into Slytherin! And you just went there and placed Harry in with those, those…ah, I can't believe people actually trust you into sorting their children! You're just about as trusty as a blind man in full day light crossing the street! And did you even bother to think what you were doing when-'

'STOP, please someone stop her.' The hat was begging.

'Well, maybe you should have thought about the consequences before you decided to open that rusty old mouth of yours! Oh, I ought to glue it shut!' She said beginning to like the thought of the stupid old hat unable to speak.

'Sorry kiddo, RAVENCLAW' the hat said through gritted teeth not sounding sorry in the least.

Hermione huffed and yanked the hat of dumping it unceremoniously on the chair. She made her way towards Luna still looking positively livid.

"Weasley, William" – GRYFFINDOR

"Wood, Adrian" – GRIFFINDOR

After the sorting was over the feast began though it ended sooner than it should due to the food fight that Sirius and George started 5 minutes after the food appeared on the table.

So after 4 hours spent on the train and the fright of their plans getting botched by the evil sorting hat, the first year Slytherins now covered in food made their way towards the dungeons led by none other then Hyperion Malfoy.

Hyperion seemed to be the head of the house, seeing as none of the 6th or 7th year prefects wanted to cross him. He brought the students to the common room and explained the rules of the house to the first years.

"As most of you may know from your parents and those who don't better carve these rules in your head! You're Slytherins! Not some smart ass Ravenclaws, so don't speak out of term you're supposed to be cunning. Not some kind Hufflepuffs so don't help anyone but your own and for Salazar's sake don't cry in public. And definitely not some bloody Gryffindor so don't try to be a hero and don't grin or laugh like idiots with those from other houses. Whatever fight might go on between you and your house mates keep it in the common room! Out there, you act like nothings wrong! Understood?" He stated in a cold voice.

"Is he serious?" Harry asked Draco.

"Yeah, though it wasn't so bad in my time." Draco whispered.

"If you have these rules clear you can go. The boy's dorm is the first door on the right, the girls the first on the left." Hyperion said and pointed towards the doors. "Oh, and Riddle" He turned to glare at the boy. "A word." He beckoned Tom to him.

Draco and Harry shared a look and started walking with the first years to their dorm. They walked in and all the boys cracked the door open to look at what was going on outside.

Tom turned to look at the 5th year prefect. He looked like a dull and self-centered bastard if his facial expressions and the arrogant way he held himself were anything to go by. Not really caring what the other boy had to say Tom turned to study the room and leaned casually on the wall.

Hyperion's eye twitched as he glared at the boy. "You!" He began with a sharp edge to his voice. "In all my years as a Slytherin I have never seen a student unhappy about making it to Slytherin. In fact, I think this is the first time a first year actually dared to make it publicly know that he'd rather have been sorted else where." His eyes narrowed when he saw Tom wasn't paying any attention to him. "You will not do that again!" He hissed in a menacing voice. "Do you understand?" He asked in the same low and snake like voice he had used earlier.

Tom for one didn't seem like he was listening to the Malfoy heir. He was lost in his own thought. He wondered if Sirius or George would speak to him again. No, of course not! After all he was a Slytherin now and the rivalry between the two houses was legendary. Pandora being a Hufflepuff and all might still talk to him…he hoped. The three were the only ones who had treated Tom like a human being and not some kind of freak. It felt…good, but he knew good things weren't meant for him and was the dull guy still talking?

"Hey! Did you listen to what I told you?" Hyperion snapped and grabbed Tom by the collar. That seemed to pull the boy out of his thought. He lifted his head to give the 5th year a hard look and for a moment Hyperion was tempted to back down when he saw the hate in the first year's eyes.

Tom lowered his eyes to glare at the hand that was clutching his collar. A sickening crack was heard followed by Hyperion's painful scream. He yanked his hand away from Tom - which was hanging at a strange angle - and started sobbing. The girl which had accompanied him on the train was at his side in a moment.

"Hyperion are you al- Merlin that looks broken!" Jane cried the moment she saw his hand.

"You know," Tom said eying the boy with a superior smirk on his face. "If you want to threaten someone, make sure you have the means to back it up." He said in a cruel and taunting voice. He walked to the other boy and grabbed him roughly by the collar. "I've been hurting people long before you even took hold of that wand." He smiled, an evil smile which sent shivers down Hyperion's spine and when he spoke his voice was a mere whisper. "So don't try to order me around like those brainless and scared little _friends_ of yours, 'cause you'll have more then a broken hand to worry about next time." With that said he released Hyperion and started walking towards the first year's dorm.

Draco, Harry and the other first years quickly scrambled to their beds. Harry cursed his luck when he saw that his bed was the one next to Riddles. He and the rest of the first years jumped under the cover before Tom entered the room. The kids were going to have a long talk about tonight's events in the morning.


	7. Chapter 06: First dayFirst mistake

**Chapter 6: First day-First mistake**

Harry bolted awake at an ungodly hour do to the burning sensation he felt in his pocket. He heard Draco hiss in discomfort somewhere nearby and he knew it was Hermione who had activated the blaster burning coins.

They had agreed before leaving for Hogwarts that if they ever needed to call a secret meeting the safest way to do so was by using the fake Galleons from their fifth year. Lucky for Hermione they hadn't had time to change last night.

Harry pulled the curtains to his bed open and saw Draco getting up. They shared a quick glance and Harry slowly creep-ed out of bed and headed for his trunk. He pulled out his invisibility clock and scanned the dorm. The other boys seemed sound asleep; even Riddle's bed curtains were closed. Draco came to stand beside him and Harry pulled the invisibility cloak around them. They snuck out of the dorm and only when they were safely outside the dungeons did Draco dare to speak.

"It's 3 in the bloody morning! Couldn't that girl pick a better time for this?" He scoffed indignantly.

"Don't know. But there _are_ a lot of things we need to talk about." Harry stated. "And that's only what? Five hours since we got here?" He grimaced.

Draco silently agreed with Harry. In the past five hours they had met a dead friend, nearly had a heart attack because of the dang Marauders and last but not least, Riddle's outburst last night. "He broke Hyperion's arm. With _wandless magic_!" As the shock sank in Draco started to panic, big time. "He can do _wandless magic_ at such a young age!" He nearly screamed the last sentence and Harry tried to shush him up.

"Don't talk so loud Draco! The caretaker could hear us!" Harry said looking around.

"Sorry, it's just that, I wasn't expecting that." Draco said a little more composed.

"I was." Harry said quietly.

"WHAT?" Draco screamed at him.

"Shush!" Harry warned him with a glare. "Dumbledore told me in my 6th year that Riddle could perform magic before coming to Hogwarts." When he saw the incredulous look on Draco's face he quickly added. "But I certainly didn't think he could break someone's arm just by _glaring_ at it!"

Draco rolled his eyes at him. "So innocent." Harry scowled and sent him a nasty glare. "Are we gonna sit here all night, or are we leaving? Cause frankly, I don't wanna get caught; not by the caretaker and definitely not in one of Hermione's rants about being late." He shuddered and Harry agreed with him.

They made their way to the 7th floor, where the door to the room of Requirement was already visible. They quickly rushed inside and saw that the whole gang plus the dead friend were already there. The room had taken the shape of the Gryffindor common room, again, much to Draco's dislike.

The kids were spread out on the couches and arm chairs. Hannah and Edward were snuggled together on a couch with Tonks on the other side. Sirius was glaring daggers at the two from across the table where Hermione was writing something (_definitely school work_ Draco thought. _And she wanted to be a Slytherin_? He shuck his head.). George was snoring next to Sirius and Luna sat by Hermione's side. She lifted her head and smiled when she saw them.

"Come on! We've been waiting for you." She beckoned them to her.

"So what's this meeting about?" Draco asked as he took a seat next to Luna. Harry sat himself between Sirius and George and nudged him in the ribs to wake him up.

"What?" George asked bolting awake.

"Now that I have your attention." Hermione began. "I'd like to inform you of the reason this meeting is held." She said and handed the peace of paper she was writing on earlier to Edward. "While you two were trying your very best, I'm sure, to get here on time," she said with a sharp edge to her voice. "We were, _questioning_ Edward about his memories of his time as Cedric Diggory. And we found out the most interesting thing!" She said excitement clear on her face.

"Well what did you find out?" Draco asked curiously.

Hermione turned to look at Edward expectantly.

"Well," Edward began a little uncertain. "Am, how do you say this. I don't…no rather, I can remember more then my _time_ as Cedric, I can remember living as many other people throughout time," he finished lamely.

Draco and Harry both look confusedly at him. "What do you mean?" Harry asked uncertain.

"What I mean is," Edward tried again. "I can remember living as other people, not just Cedric Diggory." Seeing the confused expression on Draco and Harry's faces he added. "I can remember living in 1976, as Andrew Greenwood. I was an inventor, a scientist in the Muggle world and an alchemist in the wizarding world. Or in 1729 I was Daren Hart, I got sick with pneumonia and I was dying and a girl turned me into a vampire...I think her name was Isabella, I'm not sure. I was killed 200 years later," he sigh rubbing his temple. "I don't remember much detail of my other lives. I couldn't even remember how I died as Cedric Diggory, just a few aspects." He finished uncertainly. "Dose that make any sense to you?" Draco's jaw had dropped and Harry's eyes were so wide it looked like they would pop out of his head.

"You... you remember…living, as someone else, other than Cedric?" Harry asked uncertain.

"Yeah." Edward answered. "Actually I remember living as a _lot_ of other people. I'd say bout 20 or something." He finished shrugging.

"Well you'd better remember each and every one of them and complete that list by next week!" Said Hermione.

Draco peeked at the peace of paper and saw it was a sort of inventory. It said Name, Year, Nationality, Ethnicity, Occupation and Acquaintance. "Why would we need a list of his past lives?" Draco asked uncertain.

"Because," Hermione looked truly excited. "He can remember what he learned during those past live!" She said practically glowing with joy. "He can remember what he did when he was an Alchemist, the researches he did as a Muggle scientist and all sorts of other things! Don't you see? He can teach us! Everything he's learned throughout the ages, and if I'm not mistaken, he did live 200 years as a vampire." She said beaming.

"Actually," Edward said a bit weekly. "You don't really want to know anything about my time as a vampire. I assure you."

"Why?" Hermione asked. "I mean, Edward, that's 200 years we're talking about! 200 years in which-"

"I was a murdering bastard and did many terrible things I'd rather not remember." He said a hard tone to his voice.

"Oh," Hermione stirred in her seat. "Well, we'll leave the vampire out then." She finished a bit lamely.

Edward sighed. "Look I didn't mean to snap, it's just that…it's complicated and it's not a life I'm proud of."

"No, it's fine, it wasn't right of me to pressure you." Hermione said in a business like tone.

"You know Riddle broke My Grandfather's brother's arm last night." Draco said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Your what?" Sirius asked uncertainly.

"He did?" Hermione asked incredulous.

"Yeah, Hyperion rounded on him for being so forward about his discomfort of getting sorted into Slytherin and Riddle just cracked his hand by glaring at it." Draco said a bit uncertain.

The occupants in the room went deadly silent. Hermione's brain was still trying to process the thought that a 1st year could perform wandless magic of that level. Sirius still didn't understand who had had his arm broken by Riddle last night. George was already snoring.

"Guys," Luna interrupted their trail of thought. "Sorry to tell you but that was kind of obvious." She said looking strangely at them. "What I mean is, Dumbledore was about 150 years old and he was proficient at wandless magic, and Voldemort could fight on par with him, with only 50 years of experience. It was kind of obvious that he learned to use it from a tender age. It's not surprising that he can already do some serious damage without a wand." She stated a bit surprised that the others hadn't figured that out.

"No," Draco said shaking his head. "Luna, it's not obvious! Yeah, we saw what he could do, but…that was the old one! I mean he could have, I don't know, used some ritual to make himself more powerful and stuff." He said a bit uncertain. "There's no reason for us to believe that he was so powerful because, because…that's how he was." He said in a whisper. "Merlin's beard! Do you mean to tell me he _is_ that powerful?" Draco asked near a panic attack. "And they want _us_ to kill him?" He asked incredulously. "Dumbledore's mad!"

"Good job figuring that out _after_ he sent you on a suicide mission, genius!" George said mockingly while cracking and eye open. "Everybody knew the old man was a bit on the off side. He had his ideas and stuff, but they were never the best."

"George! Professor Dumbledore was the greatest wizard of all times! He knew what he was doing!" Hermione snapped. "And if you thought he was crazy why did you come here?"

"I didn't say he was crazy, I said he was a bit on the off side, wankers, not completely crazy. I mean you have to admit that all geniuses get a bit crazy after a while." George stated. "And I came here cause I believe I'd be able to do something. I'm not here to follow Dumbledore's orders!" He finished folding his arms over his chest.

Hermione looked like she was about to protest but Luna snapped. "Ok, stop it! The both of you. What do you think you're doing? Going mad after just the first day? How do you think you'll make it through the year if you can't last 5 hours?"

"But he said-" Hermione began but was cut off by Luna.

"Enough! Hermione your acting like a child! A small little kid who believes everything she is told. Or what do you honestly believe Dumbledore's perfect then I'm sorry to inform you he's not! And you better get used to it! And you," She rounded on George. "I don't give a damn why you're here! All I want to know is if we're on the same team, or if you want to abandon us!"

George shifted uncomfortably under Luna's hard gaze. He definitely liked the insane her better then this one, he decided. "I'm on your team." He said quietly and lowered his eyes to the floor.

"Alright then," Luna said nodding her head. "Now that that's over with, let's start planing our next move, because Merlin knows how well the first one went." The kids nodded.

"And we'd better get this over with fast if we want to get to class on time tomorrow." Said Hermione.

"Spoken like a true Ravenclaw." Said Draco. Unfortunately that reminded Hermione of something.

She turned to glare at Harry. "Harry, why did you let that stupid hat place you in Slytherin?" She asked in a sweet voice with a fake smile on her face.

"Hmm... I," Harry started nervously chewing his lips. He was in trouble now, he knew it.

"Oh, will you stop it!" Luna hissed in a voice that had Hermione jump one foot in the air. "We're talking about more important things now, such trivial things can wait!" She finished in a tone that left no room for discussion and Hermione just nodded.

"Now the question is whether we continue with faze two of our plans or make a new one based on the situation at hand?" Luna asked.

"I don't see why we can't continue." Sirius stated. "Just cause Riddle can use wandless magic doesn't have to mean anything. After all, it's not like we're out to get him, yet."

"Actually I have a suggestion." Said Tonks. "I think we can _improve_ our plan a bit. I'd like to be a part of the main plan too, I mean, I want to try and gain Tom's trust. You know, be his friend and stuff."

"You can't be serious." Said Hermione. "Tonks, he wouldn't want friends from another house!"

"Actually Hermione, I think he douse." Said Harry.

"I agree with Harry and Tonks.!" Stated Luna. "I mean think about it! Our Marauders were the first wizards he encountered, he seemed content to be in their presence. Unlike the time when he was sorted into Slytherin. He did look pretty distressed about it. And lets not forget the fight he had with Hyperion, that could be pretty bad for his relationship with his house mates."

"Actually sweetheart, that's were you're wrong." Draco said grimacing. "He took down the leader by just glaring at him. They're gonna love him now, you'll see, tomorrow." He looked at his watch and said. "Well, today." He showed the watch to the others. "It's 4 and I hate to break it to you guys, but we're out of time, around 4:30 the head of Slytherin house comes in for a patrol. It's like an unwritten rule, you always have to be in the dorms by 4:30 or you're in trouble." He said as he stood up and headed for the door. "I don't know bout you guys but I don't wanna get caught sneaking out in the first day. Riddle'll definitely get suspicious."

"Yeah, he's right." Harry said as he moved towards the door. "See you guys in the morning!" He said and waved his good-byes.

"Ok we'll be on our way after a few minutes." Sirius said. "Who's first?"

"We'll go." Said Luna. "And you guy's wait _at least_ 5 minutes!"

"Yes, mum" George said giving her a mock bow. Luna rolled her eyes at him and she and Hermione exited the Room of Requirement.

All the kids got back to their dorms, though fairly late.

-OOOOOO-

"Sirius!" George dumped a cold bucked of water on top of his head. Sirius bolted out of bed and reached for his wand.

"What? Where?" He looked confused around the common room and spotted George hiding behind the bed on his right. "GEORGE! Did you have to do that?" Sirius asked while spelling his robes dry.

"Yeah! It's 9:30! We'll miss breakfast!" George said and handed Sirius his school uniform. "The others are already there. They said they tried waking you up, but gees man, you sleep like a log."

"Be right there." Sirius rushed in the bathroom to change.

When the two Marauders walked into the great hall the other kids were already half way through breakfast. Sirius jumped in the seat next to Ignatius and reached for the chicken, but unfortunately for him it disappeared and desert appeared on the table. "Dang!" He cursed.

"If you snooze you lose." Adrian Wood teased him.

"Well thanks for waking me up!" Sirius snapped.

"Hey man we tried." Wood said in his defense. "But you just wouldn't budge."

"Oh never mind." Sirius said and he turned to look sadly at his pudding.

"Did you guys get the schedule?" George asked digging into his pudding.

"Yeah, one moment. Angy!" William Weasley (who surprisingly didn't look much like a Weasley with his brown hair, blue eyes and freckle-less face) screamed at a girl with blond hair and brown eyes (Angelica Heart) who turned to glare at him.

"What part of 'only my friends can call me that' didn't you get Weasley?"

"Are you still mad? Come one Angy that was a joke!" William said smiling sweetly at her.

"Don't mind him Angy," George intervened. "Could you please pass me the schedule."

"Sure," Angelica smiled and handed him the schedule. "Just don't give it to the weasel."

"Sure will." George said and looked at the paper. The whole occupants of the great hall heard the cry of joy that escaped George's throat at seeing the schedule.

"Ah, my ear! George! What's gotten into you?" Sirius snapped.

George wasn't listening to him, he had risen from his seat and started dancing the weirdest of dances. Sirius regarded him strangely before taking a peek at their schedule. It read:

Monday:

10:00 Transfiguration (Professor Albus Dumbledore) – with Ravenclaw

11:00 Charms (Professor Claire Littleton) – with Ravenclaw

Sirius glared at the schedule unable to believe what he was seeing. "Two classes? Just two classes and the rest of the day off?" He said in a small voice.

"Well duh, what else did you expect? We're first years, remember!" William Weasley said across from him.

That was all the confirmation Sirius needed. A cry of joy escaped his throat and he started dancing with George while singing the chorus from 'Hard rock Halleluja by Lordi', to everyone's dismay, since the song hadn't been invented yet.

Tonks jumped out of her seat and rushed to them. "Sirius! George! What's gotten you guys in such a good mood." She said and tried to grab a hold of the two who were now the center of attention of the great hall. But the two wouldn't budge. They grabbed Tonks and started spinning her around and around until she lost her balance and fell in George's arms who kissed her on the lips. That seemed to get the two back to earth. Sirius stopped to glare at the two and George freaked out and pulled away from her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." He tried apologizing to her.

"Forget it." Tonks said a little dizzy.

"Yeah, right." George said relieved but then a perplexed expression passed over his face.

After the shock passed the girls from ALL the houses started giggling and whispering about Tonks and George's _unintentional_ kiss. Sirius, George and Tonks sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"Ok what has you so happy?" Tonks asked the two now embarrassed kids.

"Did you see our schedule?" Sirius asked excitement clear in his voice.

"Yes, and I hope you do realize you'll be spending the next 2 hours with Hermione and Luna." Tonks said smiling broadly at them.

That was all it took for the two Marauders to drop from the highest cliffs of heavens to the lowest pits of hell. Both cautiously turned to scan the Ravenclaw table and soon wished they hadn't. The glares the two girls were sending them were monstrous, and the two knew if looks could kill, there'd be nothing left of them to bury. They swallowed and turned to look miserably at their pudding, their appetite long forgotten.

Breakfast passed too soon in Sirius's opinion and before he knew it he was off to his first class of the day with George walking stiffly behind him.

The moment they entered the classroom a person bumped hard into George's shoulder making him land on a seat by the wall and someone dumped his things roughly beside him. George turned to look at the person, a rather nasty reply on the tip of his tong, but froze when he met the blazing glare of Luna Lovegood (now commonly known as Bouquet). He turned to glance in the other direction only to come face to face with the wall. It seemed like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place so to speak.

Sirius pulled his bag down on the side next to the wall and nearly jumped out of his skin when Hermione took the seat next to him rather then George. He turned to scan the room for George and found him and Luna sitting right behind him. He slowly turned around to look at the front of the class, and prayed that for the first time in his life Dumbledore would show up on time.

"So, mind telling me what was the stunt you pulled at breakfast about?" Hermione said casually, though the sharpness in her tone didn't escape Sirius. She was turned towards him, her predatory eyes moving between the two Marauder who had gone positively still.

"Why so silent?" Luna asked, a mock tone to her voice. "Last thing I remember, you were quite eager to _talk_," she stepped hard on George's foot and it took all his will to keep from screaming. "About your little discovery of the day, in fact," she stepped again on the same foot and this time George couldn't help a whimper escaping his throat. "You. Were. Quite. A good. Entertainer." She amplified each word while stepping on George's foot each time more vicious then the last. "EVERYONE was impressed with _your __song_!" She finished hissing in a whispered voice that sent chills down George's spine.

"And you," Hermione said smirking down on Sirius. She dug her nails into his arm. "Weren't exactly the virtuous one of the gang now were you?" Sirius bit his tong to keep from screaming as Hermione's nails dug a path up to his palm. "Lucky for you Riddle decided to skip breakfast or," she leaned in close to whisper in Sirius's ear, her breathing caressing his cheek, "you two would have had a hole lot more to worry about then a few scratches and a sore foot." She finished and rouse from her seat. Luna gave George a nasty glare and followed Hermione to the front seat in the middle of the class.

Sirius slipped in the seat next to George and started healing his bloodied arm. "Man those two are monsters." He said to George, his throat dry.

"Yeah." George agreed and started healing his injured leg.

That moment Dumbledore decided to finally make his appearance, a little late in Sirius's not so humble opinion, and began the lesson.

"Good morning, and welcome, my dears to your first class of Transfiguration." Dumbledore began raising his hands symbolically as if trying to embrace the students. "Now, let me give you a short introduction on what you will be learning this year." He began talking about the wonders and many uses of Transfiguration and Sirius instantly understood why it was James's favorite subject.

Hermione was mesmerized, all her early worries forgotten. Sure McGonagall was good, but Dumbledore was magnificent. He could make even the most little and insignificant of things interesting, and the admiration and emotion he used to describe his subject captivated all the students in the class.

-OOOOOO-

"I can't believe those bastards let us sleep in!" Harry said while rushing at top speed towards his first class. Slughorn had come to wake them up this morning and given them their schedule (which was quite nice of him considering that if Snape had been their head of house they would be serving detention with him for a month).

"Yeah, they tend to do that," Draco said a little breathless. "But man, did you see our schedule? I bet George and Sirius made a show of themselves at breakfast."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. They only had two classes today: Charms and Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs, and the rest of the period off. He didn't even know what he'd do with all the free time on his hands.

When they finally arrived to Charms, they were already 10 minutes late and professor Claire Littleton, (who proved to be just as understanding as Filch would be if he caught you out of bed after curfew), held them a long, 10 extra minutes lecture about student's responsibility and behavior. After the _enchanting_ and _life scarring_ speech Claire ordered the two students (Hannah and Edward), who were sitting in the center bench of the first row to move to the back of the class and let Draco and Harry up front so she could _keep an eye_ on the nasty little buggers. Harry instantly disliked her, as for Draco, she was definitely on his hit list.

She kept nagging them throughout the class to pay attention and scolded them if they as much as dared to blink, luckily for them they had mastered the Wingardium Leviosa charm and were quite glad to rub it in her face when she dared them to try it out first. By the half of the class (10 minutes into the lecture), she started popping up more questions then Hermione herself could handle, but it seemed that Tom and Edward had taken it upon themselves to answer. By the end of the class the two were glaring daggers at each other and Miss Littleton was practical in love with them and kept nagging on and on about how all students should be as diligent and smart as they were.

Harry had never in his life hated a teacher as much as he hated Miss Littleton (no not even Snape), by the end of the class he was in such a hurry to leave he forgot his bag pack and school books on the table, which of course earned him another long and mind scarring lecture from the bloody pest.

"You just had to pull a stunt like that now didn't you Rowling?" Draco scowled. "The bloody class ended and you just had to rush out without your stuff and make her open that big fat mouth of hers. And get me caught with ya!" He glared hatefully at him. "That's the last time I'm ever sticking by you do you hear me!"

"Would you mind shutting up for once? Or what do you think I enjoy torturing you on my behalf?" Harry snapped. Draco was about to snap right back at him but Abraxas Malfoy and Leonisius Lestrange caught up with them.

"Trouble in paradise?" Abraxas teased. "I thought you were like brothers or something?"

"Yeah, well even brothers fight once in a while." Harry scoffed. He didn't like the fact that there were three Malfoy in this time, like one wasn't bad enough.

"I haven't fought with mine." Abraxas said proud of himself. "Not even once." He stopped walking and said. "You know we didn't have time to introduce ourselves last night, I'm Abraxas Malfoy, and this is Leonisius Lestrange" He pointed at the black haired, brown eyed kid next to him. "And you are?"

Harry froze when he heard the name Lestrange. He hadn't really paid attention to Minerva when she had told them about the student's which would be attending Hogwarts at the time and therefore would be paying dearly for his outburst.

"I'm Draco Ivanov-" The words hadn't even left Draco's mouth when Harry punched Leonisius in the face effectively breaking his jaw. The boy hit the ground unconscious. Time seemed to slow down for the three boys. They were all stuck gaping at Leonisius who was spread up on the floor, his jaw bleeding furiously.

Harry's brain was slowly beginning to process what just happened. He had heard the name Lestrange(which he naturally associated with Bellatrix and Rudolf, Neville's murderers) and had acted without thinking for a second of the consequences.

"Why did you do that for?" Abraxas asked after he had composed himself.

"I..." Harry began a little uncertainly, but there was nothing he could think of to justify his outburst.

"He's sorry," Draco intervened. He glared pointedly at Harry and the other boy knew Draco would invent some lame, but plausible excuse to save his ass and he would have to agree with it. "You see," Draco pulled Abraxas aside. He adopted a sad and troubled voice and said "he had an uncle Leonisius who was a pedophile and a filthy mud-blood, and, well, when you said his name he naturally mistook Lestrange for him, and he acted on instinct," Draco faked regret and reluctance at telling him this and continued "He's very sensitive about the subject, this isn't his first outburst, actually I think he's lucky to walk away with only that." He finished.

By the end of Draco's speech Abraxas was green in the face "Oh, I...I understand, I'll just get Leo-Lestrange to the hospital wing, tell the teacher I'll be late will ya." With that said Abraxas turned towards Lestrange.

Draco grabbed a hold of Harry's sleeve and dragged him towards their next class. "You don't want to know!" Draco said when he felt the other boy was about to ask him something.

-OOOOOO-

Dumbledore's class was the best class Harry had been to in all his years as a student, even Draco reluctantly admitted Dumbledore was a good teacher. Leonisius and Abraxas hadn't shown up, not for the class and not for lunch but no one missed them, certainly not Harry. Riddle hadn't shown up for lunch either, but unlike what Minerva had said it seemed Dumbledore was quite fond of him, and apparently the rivalry between him and Edward was ever growing.

At the Hufflepuff table Edward was in a fowl mood.

"What's wrong Ed?" Hannah asked concern written on her face.

"Oh, nothing." He began sarcasm clear in his voice. "Just the fact that I'm being topped in class by the bastard who apparently killed me!" He hissed and stabbed his food viciously.

"Shush!" Hannah said sending him a glare that promised lots of pain. "I never knew you cared so much for grades." She said huffing.

"Of course I do!" Edward said incredulous. "I was the perfect student, the roll model for all my juniors in Hufflepuff! How can I not care if some guy tries to take my place? It's competition, and I _have_ to win, to regain my dignity." Edward said his mind made up.

Hannah rolled her eyes at him. "Men, I'll never understand them." She said and turned to talk to Tonks.

"A ha! I knew it wouldn't last!" Sirius said.

"What wouldn't last?" George asked him while stuffing a large amount of food in his mouth.

"Hannah and that dead guy." Sirius said pointing at the Hufflepuff table.

George glared at him. "Are you stalking her now? You know it would be easier to just tell her you like her." He pointed out and resumed eating.

"What? I don't like her!" Sirius huffed indignantly. "I'm just looking out for her, you know like a concerned older brother."

"Overly-protective and highly-jealous older brother." George corrected him.

"I'm not jealous!" Sirius hissed.

"Keep telling yourself that. Maybe you'll believe it some day and start looking at all the other girls from around here who have their eyes on you." George said and turned to talk with Ignasius and William who were discussing the upcoming Quidditch match between Switzerland and Ireland. Sirius just glared at him and resumed his spy-brotherly concerned surveillance of Hannah.

-OOOOOO-

Riddle didn't show up at dinner either but Leonisius did and he was very careful to sit as far away from Harry as the Slytherin table allowed and refused to look in his direction or even talk about why he skipped Dumbledore's class. Riddle didn't even show up for curfew and the kids were long asleep when he finally decided to enter the common room.


	8. Chapter 07: Whiled Goose Chase

Hi there! I just wanted to apologies for taking so long to upload; I was gone the entire week. But I'll make it up to you! The next chapter will be uploaded sometime tomorrow so I hope you like it. And I also wanted to show you the kid's schedule (I forgot to post it at the end of the last chapter). This chapter isn't betaed so, I sincerely apologies for any mistakes. Well hope you like the chapter and please Review!

**Slytherin**

**Hour-****Monday****-****Tuesday****-****Wednesday****-****Thursday****-****Friday**

10:00-Charms-Potions-DADA-History of Magic-Flying

11:00-Transfiguration-Transfiguration-Herbology-DADA-Potions

24:00-Astronomy

**Gryffindor**

******Hour-****Monday****-****Tuesday****-****Wednesday****-****Thursday****-****Friday**

10:00-Transfiguration-Transfiguration-DADA-History of Magic-Potions

11:00-Charms-Potions-Herbology-DADA-Flying

24:00-Astronomy

**Ravenclaw**

******Hour-****Monday****-****Tuesday****-****Wednesday****-****Thursday****-****Friday**

10:00-Transfiguration-Transfiguration-Herbology-DADA-Flying

11:00-Charms-Potions-DADA-History of Magic-Potions

24:00-Astronomy

**Hufflepuff**

******Hour-****Monday****-****Tuesday****-****Wednesday****-****Thursday****-****Friday**

10:00-Charms-Potions-Herbology-DADA-Potions

11:00-Transfiguration-Transfiguration-DADA-History of Magic-Flying

24:00-Astronomy

**Chapter 7: Whiled Goose Chase**

A week passed since the kids arrived at Hogwarts.

Sirius, George and Tonks had become quite popular among their house mates for setting the staff table on fire on the third day and not getting caught.

Hermione, Edward and Tom were in an all out war on who was top of the year. Though Tom seemed indifferent about it, Hermione and Edward were glaring daggers at him and each other every time they came in close proximity.

Harry had been deemed the Slytherin mascot by the girls with his cute face and green eyes, much to his annoyance. Leonisius was pointedly avoiding him and Abraxas was wary and jumpy around him.

Draco, of course, adapted quickly and became a favorite among his fellow firs years.

Hannah was officially dating Edward which in turns made Sirius moody and he was now stalking the two with his Marauders map everywhere they went.

Luna was apparently the only one of the group who cared that they hadn't made any progress with Riddle at all.

"Ok you, listen up!" She rounded on them that Monday after lunch. "We can't go on like this! A week has passed and none of us made any progress with Riddle. And that's not good." They were in the Room of Requirement again (shaped like the Gryffindor common room, again), and the children weren't paying attention to her, again. George was talking with Sirius (who was occasionally glaring at Hannah and Edward) about their next prank, Draco was having a hushed argument with Harry about the things he had said to Abraxas last Monday (he had recently found out about it), Hermione and Edward were stuck in a glaring competition and Tonks was lost in her own thoughts.

"Ah," Luna groaned and snapped at them. "Listen to me damn it! I've written to Miss Muller!" That seemed to get their attention. The kids instantly turned to look at her.

"What did she say?" Hermione asked curiously.

"She agrees with me!" Luna answered and the kids rolled their eyes. "She thinks you forgot what we came here for, and I agree. Riddle's isolated himself from all the other kids and that's not good! And will you stop it! Sirius! Hermione! Edward!" She sighed and continued exasperately. "Guys, we need to concentrate on Riddle or this could turn out bad!"

"But I've tried!" Tonks said frustrated. "I've tried talking to him before class, but he always shows up right before the bell rings and I can't find him anywhere in the afternoon, I've looked for him! Dang, some people think I'm a stalker, or that I'm cheating on George!" George blushed furiously at hearing this.

"Don't worry," said Luna, "he already has his own personal club of fan girls by now, you wouldn't look to suspicious." Tonks glared at her.

"Anyways," Hermione interrupted "I've got something that could help us communicate better!" She said excited. "Tada" She held up 4 pair of pocket sized note books with different designs on the cover.

"What are these?" George asked while picking up a notebook with a lion in a jungle on its cover.

"They're notebooks." Harry said looking suspiciously at them.

"Not just any notebooks. I've put a *necto charm on them. The charm enables the notebooks to act as a sort of muggle cell-phone." Hermione said. At seeing the puzzled faces of the other kids she added frustrated. "What I mean is, you can write things in one of them and it will appear in the others as well! It'll disappear once you're done reading." Comprehension delved on the kid's faces and they looked truly excited.

"You mean, anything I write here, the others can read?" George asked looking at the notebook in a new light.

"Yes that of course if you don't write the name of a person who you want to speak." Hermione said.

"So I can write a name in here and then start talking only to them?" Sirius asked while picking up a notebook with a tiger on top.

"Yes, but firs you need to write your name on the inside cover, so that the spell can recognize you, or else it would just pass whatever you are writing to all the other notes it is connected to." Hermione said as she pulled out a notebook from her pocket with an image of the sky and wrote her name in the inside cover.

"Mione these are great, you're truly a geniuses!" Harry said as he picked a notebook and wrote his name on it.

"Why, thank you, Harry." Hermione said and flashed Edward a superior smirk. "I've sent Miss Muller one too, so we don't have to wait for and owl every time we need to talk with her."

"Great, did she get it?" Draco asked.

"Yes, my owl returned last night, so I'm guessing she did." Hermione said.

"Ok, let's talk with her then." George said and started writing in his notebook. '_Miss Muller?_' the writing didn't appear on the other notebooks.

"George! We're having a conference here!" Draco scowled.

"Sorry!" George apologized.

_'Ok, stop arguing and let's start the conference' _Hermione wrote and this time the writing did appear with the name Hermione in front.

"Cool!" George said and wrote '_Alright, my own personal Merlin, what do you wanna talk about?_' and got a slap over the head for it.

_Minerva: 'I do believe you've been amusing yourself more then necessary, and in the mean time forgot about your duties Mr. Mockswell.' _The writing startled George.

George: '_Miss Muller?_' He asked uncertainly

Minerva: '_Yes. Why? Were you expecting Santa Clause this early in the season?_' George grinned; he never knew his ex-professor could have a sense of humor.

Luna: '_Don't mind him Miss Muller; he's a little high right now._' Luna glared at him.

George: '_Hey!_' He glared back.

Minerva: 'Anyways, _we need to talk about more important things now._'

Hermione: '_Yes, we need advice on what to do with Riddle, we're out of ideas._'

Minerva: '_Would seem so. Is Diggory there with you?_'

Edward: '_Actually I'm Edward Cullen now, Miss Muller._'

Minerva: '_I know, it's just that your, _appearance _is a bit unexpected._'

Edward: '_I could say the same thing about you._' He wrote while chuckling slightly.

Luna: '_Can we go back to talking about Riddle?_' She wrote a little impatient.

Minerva: '_Yes, of course. Luna was kind enough to inform me of your recent activities and I must say I am disappointed with your behavior!_' The other kids turned to glare at Luna.

Minerva: '_I thought we agreed that once you got there you'd earn the trust of your house mates and then try to get close to Riddle. As far as I'm concerned neither are going so well._'

George: '_I'm popular in my house!_' he wrote trying to amend himself.

Minerva: '_Yes, but Riddle doesn't care. In fact I heard he isn't even talking to anyone. Or maybe he is and you just don't know about it, because you aren't in a position to find out, now are you?_' That stung, it was true now that the kids reflected on the last week's events.

Minerva: '_And Hermione, Edward. While I do agree on challenging him a bit, please don't start off as his rivals, that won't be good for you two._'

Tonks: '_I wanna try and talk to him._'

Minerva: '_Yes I suppose that would be for the best. You did meet him on the train. He probably trust's you, to some degree. I can't talk long, I've promised Aurora Prewett to drop by her house sometimes in the afternoon. We'll talk tonight._'

Luna: '_OK, have fun!_' With that said the kids closed the notebooks.

"Well that was helpful!" George sighed.

"I'll say! Let's get going I'm tired and we need to be well rested for tomorrow." Sirius said grinning from ear to ear.

"Sirius we all know you like Dumbledore's class, but _this is_ important." Luna said.

"Luna he's right," Draco intervened. "Minerva said we'll talk tonight so let's call it a day, ok?"

At seeing the tired expressions of the other kids faces, and feeling rather dizzy herself she nodded. "Fine! We _will_ talk tomorrow." She threaten and grabbed Hermione by the wrist (who was engaged in another glaring competition with Edward), and headed for the door.

Harry and Draco left a few minutes after the two had gone.

Hannah and Edward got up and walked to the door. "Tonks are you coming?" Hannah asked.

"Just a sec." Tonks said and rushed over to Sirius and George who were checking the Marauders Map for teachers. "Guys, I want you to help me talk to Tom!" Tonks said the moment she reached them.

"Us?" asked George and Sirius uncertain.

"Yeah, you! Who else?" George and Sirius shared a look and Sirius said:

"Look Tonks, don't think we haven't tried, because we have" He assured her. "But, as you said, he always comes in just before the bell rings and is one of the first to leave!"

"Yeah and in Astronomy last Wednesday, we waited to talk to him after class but he left surrounded by all his Slytherin little fans, and neither of them were Draco or Harry, so we couldn't." George said sadly. "They've turned him."

"No they haven't!" Tonks kicked George hard on the shoulder. "If they had he would be eating with them! Guys he hasn't come to diner once since the first day!" At seeing Tonks distresses face George didn't know what to do.

"Ok, we'll try and talk to him but I'm not promising anything, for all we know he might hate us for being Gryffindors."

Sirius looked down at his map and said. "He's in the library!" He pointed towards the little dot which read 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' who was sitting alone somewhere in the back of the library.

"No way! You mean all this time I've spent searching for him and he was in the bloody library?" Tonks said incredulous. "I dismissed it off as too obvious." She said slapping her forehead.

"Well, wanna go talk to him?" George asked hopefully.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Tonks said excited. She lifted herself of the couch and turned to Hannah and Edward who were waiting for her. "Guys, sorry! Would you mind going without me?"

"No problem." Hannah said while flashing a smile. "Just as long as you're back by dinner."

"Ok! Thanks." Hannah and Edward said their goodbyes and exited the Room of Requirement.

"Well let's go after him!" Tonks urged the two.

"Yeah, lets." George agreed. The three Marauders headed for the door and made their way to the forth floor. They entered the library and spotted Mr. Larry D. Abner, the librarian scanning through the list of borrowed books.

Mr. Abner lifted his head to look at them. "Oh, hello there, children! Come in, come in!"

The three Marauders did as they were told. "We were wondering if we could check out some books." George asked.

"Of course you can, after all, this _is_ the library. Tell me if you need any help." Mr. Abner said and turned back to his list.

"Well he's a helpful fellow, not like Madam Pince." Sirius said. He walked out of sight of the librarian and spread his Marauders Map on the table. "No way!" He said frustrated.

"What happened?" Tonks asked.

"He's not here!" Sirius told her. "Riddle, he's not here anymore!"

The other two's faces dropped when they heard him. "You've gott'a be kidding me!" George said exasperatedly.

"Where is he now?" Tonks asked. Sirius and the other two started scanning the Marauders Map for Tom.

"He's in the kitchen?" Sirius asked disbelieved.

"That would explain why he hasn't been coming to dinner." Tonks said.

"And why he didn't die of hunger." George added. "So, are we going after him?"

"I don't know if we should." said Sirius doubtfully. "I mean think about it. There are plenty of chances that we'd _accidentally_ stumble upon each other in the library, but the kitchen." He said shaking his head. "That would look suspicious. He'd think we were spying on him."

"Well, we sort of are." Tonks said a little embarrassed.

"Yeah," said George "but he doesn't have to know about it."

"Tell you what." Sirius said scanning the Map. "We go here," he pointed at a classroom near the kitchen, "and wait for him to come out. Then we could say we were trying to find a secluded place to talk about some prank we're trying to pull."

"And we'll ask him if he wants to help!" Said George a plan started to take shape in his mischievous mind.

"Or we can say that we're out of ideas and ask him to help us!" Tonks added enthusiastically. "Think about it! He was really excited about the whole idea of pranking the teachers and students; maybe we could win him over with it!"

"I like her plan better." George said.

"Ok then, it's settled. Let's get a move on before we lose the evasive little bugger again." Sirius said and the kids rushed out of the library at top speed.

They headed for the stairs and jumped down three at a time, George was about to fall of the stairs when they started moving with him still on them, but he jumped off just in time. When they reached the dungeon Sirius glanced at his Map to make sure Riddle was still in the kitchen. He had a feeling he wasn't, and he was right.

"Dang that kid!" Sirius said frustrated. "Were did he go now!" He spread up the map on the floor and the kids started looking for Riddle again.

"Look! He's on the seventh floor!" George pointed at a dot which was walking down a corridor.

"Great!" Sirius cursed.

"But how...how did we miss him? I mean, didn't he use the stairs?" Tonks asked bewildered.

"Well what are we waiting for here, it's not like he's gonna come down again." George said as he lifted himself from the floor. "Let's go get him." He held his hand out for Tonks. "And throttle him for being such a prate."

Tonks rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. "Coming Sirius?" She asked as she jumped to her feet.

"I s'ppose so." Sirius grumbled and packed his map.

They climbed the stairs excruciatingly slow after all they were a little tired and doubted that Riddle would even be there and they'd make the journey for nothing, again. By the time they reached the third floor they were barely dragging their aching feet.

"Stop!" George said breathlessly. "I can't go anymore!" He collapsed on top of the entrance to the third floor. Sirius and Tonks which were halfway on the stairs to the forth floor turned to look tiredly at him. They slowly dragged their exhausted bodies down the stairs and collapsed next to George.

"I can't take another step." Sirius said exhausted.

"Me neither." Tonks said and dropped her head on Sirius's shoulder.

"Is Riddle still there?" George asked.

"Don't know." Sirius said. He struggled to move his tired hands to his pocket and pulled out his map agonizingly slow. He took one look at it and groaned.

"He's not there, is he?" George said resigned and closed his eyes trying to catch his breath.

"No, he's on the ground floor." Sirius said close to exasperation.

"How douse he keep doing that?" Tonks asked halfheartedly. "He couldn't have passed us!"

"Forget it!" George said determined. "That's it for tonight! I can't move another muscle; I think you'll have to call Madam Pomfrey to get me."

"It's Madam Gray, George!" Tonks scolded him. "And I can't move either."

"Don't look at me." Sirius said. "I'm dying. I never thought that chasing a kid would be so troublesome."

-OOOOOO-

"Where's Tonks!" Hannah asked impatiently. "She said she'd be here before dinner!"

"Relax! She's probably just hanging out with Sirius and George for a while; you know planning another prank and stuff." Edward said trying to calm her down.

"Its 10 o'clock Edward!" Hannah snapped. "She didn't show up at dinner and she's _never_ late for dinner. Something's wrong, I'm telling you!" She started pacing the room impatiently and Edward groaned beside her.

He had had a busy day thanks to their insane Charms teacher Miss Littleton. _Seriously which teacher in their right mind gives a first year a school project that they have to present in front of the _whole school_ by the end of the year? A nut case that's who_! He thought frustrated. He had to visit the library trice today and still hadn't found out what the *_defluo_ charm meant. It was a tad satisfying that Hermione and Riddle were in the same hole as he, dough the fact that Hermione had already started her project was unnerving. He was dozing off on the couch when Hannah spoke again.

"I'm going to search for them! Are you coming Edward!" She said and shook him roughly.

"What?" Edward bolted awake and looked around confused.

"I said I'm going to search for them. Are you coming or not?" She asked him again impatiently.

"What, now?" Edward asked while looking at his watch. "It's 10:15! It's passed curfew!"

"Yeah, so?" She said annoyed.

"So, we _could_ get in trouble! A lot of trouble." Edward protested.

"Funny how you didn't think about that when we snuck out last night, or the night before, or the night before that!" Hannah snapped at him. "If you're too much of a coward to come, I'm going alone!" She stormed out of the common room.

"Hannah!" Edward was stuck silent for a second, and then he jumped of the sofa and chased after her. "Wait! I'm coming with you."

-OOOOOO-

Sirius woke up with a sharp pain in his neck. He tried to bend it to the left and groaned. "Dang, it hurts!" He cursed and massaged his aching neck. The sound of his voice woke Tonks up as well.

"Sirius? What's wrong?" She asked looking around but it was too dark to see.

"Tonks? What are you doing in the boy's dormitory?" He asked surprised. "Actually what are you doing in Gryffindor tower?"

"I don't know." Tonks voice came from somewhere to his right and a pressure was lifted from his shoulder. Sirius panicked.

"Tonks? Are you the dead weight on my right?" He asked swallowing.

Tonks kicked him hard on the shoulder. "Yeah, I guess I am." She said annoyance clear in her voice. "And I don't think we're in the Gryffindor common room."

"No? Then where are we?" Sirius asked baffled. "And who's the dead weight on my left?" He poked the person on his left but it didn't budge. "And why am I so dang tired?"

"Sirius..." Tonks said a bit panicked. "I think we fell asleep in the third floor corridor."

"WHAT?" Sirius shrieked in disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me!" He turned to his right. "Then this must be George." He poked George again. "Tonks...he's burning up."

"What?" Tonks questioned while trying to get up.

"George, he has a fever." Sirius said with his hand on George's forehead.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously!"

"Ok… well…we'll take him to Madam Gray!" Tonks said standing up. "Aw, my feat hurt."

"Tell me about it." Sirius said and stud as well. "Ok, you take the hands I'll take the legs."

"Ok." Tonks grabbed a hold of George's hands and Sirius grabbed his legs. They only lifted him an inch when they dropped him and started complaining about their fatigued bodies.

"Maybe it'll be better if one of us brought Madam Gray here." Sirius said. "And one of us watches over George."

"Yeah," Tonks agreed, "I'll stay with George."

"K, I'll be right back." Sirius said and exited the corridor.

-OOOOOO-

"Hannah, where are you going?" Edward asked running after her.

"Outside!" Hannah said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, (which it was). "Those three have been sneaking into Hogsmead for a few days now and they haven't used any of the tunnels from inside the castle, so I assumed they must have found something outside." She entered the courtyard and looked around.

"I doubt you'll find anything out here." Edward said shivering slightly. "Han, let's go back inside, it's cold!"

"Oh come on Ed, you aren't even trying! Why did you follow me? To drag me down?" Hannah said turning to look at him.

"No," Edward said sinking his gaze in her blue eyes. "To keep you safe."

Hannah smiled at hearing that. "Thanks."

"Your eyes," Edward said after a moment of silence. "They used to be brown. I liked that color."

"What, blue doesn't fit me?" She teased faking a glare.

"No," Edward said taking a few steps towards her. "I think it fits you perfectly." He leaned in for a kiss.

-OOOOOO-

Tonks was sitting quietly next to George. As ridiculous as it may seem she was afraid of the dark. And it was just her luck that tonight was a no moon night. She sighed and spared a quick glance towards the door which led to the stairs. That was creepy too. _Where's Sirius? That oaf better've not gone back to sleep_. Then she remembered about Hermione's notebooks. _That's right; Mione said we can communicate with these_.' She pulled out her notebook (which had a cute white puppy on the front), lit her wand up with a lumos charm and wrote: _Hannah, Sirius?_

Sirius was just about to knock on the hospital wings door when he felt a weird buzzing noise coming from his pocket. He stiffened a little and cautiously dug inside his pocket. He pulled out the notebook that Hermione had given them that morning and opened it. It read Pandora: _Hannah, Sirius?_

_Pandora? Who the hell is Pandora?_ Sirius pondered and wrote: _Who the hell are you?_

Hannah was just about to kiss Edward when her notebook started buzzing and had them both jump up in surprise.

"What, what the hell is that?" Edward asked looking around.

"It's Hermione's notebook!" Hannah said pulling it out. "It's from Tonks!" She said excited but then remembered she was pissed at the girl for making her worry and wrote: _Tonks you better tell me were you are this instant or I'll kill you!_

Tonks glared at seeing Sirius's reply and gulped at Hannah's, she knew the girl meant it.

_I'm in the third floor corridor guarding George. He's sick. Sirius went to get Madam Gray._

-OOOOOOO-

Sirius was glad Tonks had written the nurses name cause he was about to ask for madam Ponfry. He entered the Hospital wing and peeked inside. "Madam Gray?" The door to the nurse's office opened and out stepped a woman in her late 30's. She had black hair stained with white here and there and dark eyes. She was wearing a pair of hospital pajamas and a white doctor's coat.

"A firs year? What are you doing up so late child?" She asked rushing towards him. "Are you sick?"

"No, not me. My friend. He's on the third floor and his burning up. We couldn't even wake him to bring him here." Sirius answered.

"You'd better take me to him then." Sirius nodded and he and the nurse made their way towards George and Tonks.

-OOOOOO-

"She's on the third floor!" Hannah snapped. "I'm worried sick and she's wandering the castle at night! Perfect, bloody perfect." She ran back towards the castle. Edward hurried to catch up.

"Hannah! Han! Wait up! Didn't Tonks say George was sick?" He asked uncertain.

"Well of course he's sick! Faking it more likely so that I won't kill the whole lot of 'em." She raged turning to glare at Edward.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Ed said in his defense.

Hannah sighed and rubbed her temple. "I know, sorry." She lifted her head up and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself and her eyes rested straight on a figure standing on top of the astronomy tower. "What the..." She blinked confusedly a few times trying to determine whether the figure was there or if the sleep deprived nights (do to Luna's long and boring meetings), were getting to her.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked looking worried at her.

"Do you see that?" She asked and pointed to the direction of the astronomy tower.

Edward's turned to look in the direction Hannah had pointed at. "What the hell is that kid doing there?"

On top of the astronomy tower, dangerously close to the edge, was a boy dressed in baby blue pajamas, his arms stretched wide and his head lifted toward the night sky. There was an unearthly glow around him because although the night was darker that you couldn't see tow feet in front of you, he was perfectly visible. He lowered his head to gaze mesmerized at the ground and took a step forward closing his eyes.

Hannah screamed when she saw the kid jump. Edward acted without thinking, he pulled out his wand, and a spell he never even thought he knew came out of his mouth. *"Halt das Pendeluhr"

-OOOOOO-

necto = to bind

defluo = to disappere

Halt das Pendeluhr = stop the pendulum


	9. Chapter 08: Riddle and the Gossip

Hi! Here's chapter 8 as promised. Hope you like it and please Review!

**Chapter 8: Riddle and the Gossip**

Madam Heidi Gray, school nurse, had just brought George, Tonks and Sirius in the hospital wing when the Arithmancy teacher Adrian Paul Hewett (Ravenclaw head of House) accompanied by the Headmaster rushed in the nursery with a third year Ravenclaw in their hands.

"Madam Gray," Paul said in a week voice. "My student tried to jump off the Astronomy tower."

"WHAT? Why?" The nurse asked concerned. Sirius gasped and Tonks clapped her hands over her mouth.

"What are these children doing here at this hour?" The Headmaster asked.

"Their friend was sick so they came to get me." Madam Gray said while heading for the bed in which Paul had placed the boy. "Make way please."

The nurse examined the kid and turned to glare at the Headmaster and the teacher. "Are you mocking me?"

Paul looked offended. "No, of course not."

"Yes you are! I have 3 sick children in here that need medical attendance and you bring me a sleeping child?" She roared. The sound of her voice seemed to wake the Ravenclaw boy. He looked confusedly around the room.

"What happened? Why am I in the hospital wing?" The boy (Cris Forman) asked. The Headmaster and his head of House were stuck gaping at him.

"Claming it was an emergency too." The nurse said indignant.

"But it was! Madam Gray I swear to you, professor Beery caught him while-"

"Get out! I have work to do. And take this child back to bed!" She ordered and headed back to George's bed.

"We are sorry to have disturbed you." The Headmaster said. "Professor, Mr. Forman! Would you mind accompanying me to my office?" They both nodded and left the nursery with the Headmaster.

Madam Gray began examining George while muttering under her breath about stupid people who didn't have anything better to do then mock her. "Your friend has lethargy and muscular fever." She said sighing. "Mind telling me what you were doing before he fell asleep?" She turned to look at the two and folded her hands over her chest.

"We were… jogging!" Sirius lied. Tonks nodded. "Up the stairs, from the first floor to the seventh. You know since we don't do any sports, and we're use to working out…"

The nurse rolled her eyes. "I told them that they should have a class of Muggle P.E. once a week, but _no_, Quidditch is enough they say." The nurse said sarcasm clear in her voice. "How many laps did you do?"

"One round." Tonks said weekly. "We started on our second…we only reached the third floor."

"I'll have to examine you two. Get on the beds!" The nurse said.

-OOOOOO-

Meanwhile in the Headmaster's office a _heated battle _was taking place.

"Cris did you or did you not jump off the Astronomy tower?" Paul asked his student.

"No, professor! Why would I do that?" Cris repeated for the thousandth time. "Like I said, I was in my bed, sleeping, and then I woke up in the hospital wing. I don't remember leaving the common room!"

"But I saw you jump!" Hannah said. "I saw it!"

There were two parties contradicting each other, well, one party contradicting a 14 year old child. Hannah, Edward and the Herbology teacher professor Herbert Beery who claimed they saw the kid jump off the tower, and the third year Ravenclaw who claimed he was sleeping. The judge was composed of Dippet and Dumbledore, Paul was only there because he was the head of Ravenclaw House.

"Maybe he was sleepwalking!" The Herbology teacher suggested. "There have been cases Armando."

"Yes, there have." Dippet said pensively. "Then I suggest you return to Madam Gray and ask her to do a test on the boy. We can't have our students sleepwalking into their untimely death now can we?" Paul nodded and left the room with the third year Ravenclaw. "Now," Dippet turned to look at the remaining occupants of the room. "I'd like to hear your story Mister Cullen, Miss Bouquet, Herbert."

"Well," Hannah began uncertain. "I was worried about my friend, Pandora Tonks; which you saw in the hospital wing, I didn't know she was there. So I went out looking for her and Edward decided to come with me, you know to…protect me!"

"Did it register to you, Miss Bouquet, the _minor detail _that it was past curfew?" Dippet asked casually.

"Yes sir…but I was worried, I mean, she's never missed curfew before, or diner…so…I…went…looking for her." Hannah finished a bit awkward.

"I see." Dippet nodded. "And what happened outside?" He asked. It was Edward's turn to speak.

"Well, we were looking around for our friend when we spotted the other boy."

"Pardon my interference," Dumbledore said. "But I don't understand why would you go looking for your friend outside?" He asked curiously.

"A hunch, I guess." Hannah said weekly. Dumbledore nodded and beckoned them to continue.

"So," Edward resumed his story. "We spotted the boy, and in the next moment he jumped. I mean we didn't even have time to ponder on why he was there. We just, acted on instinct."

"And what did this _instinct_ of yours tell you to do?" Dippet asked.

"Well, you see, that's the thing!" Edward exclaimed. "I _don't know_ what happened! I just shot the first spell I could think of."

"And that spell just happened to be a freezing charm?" Professor Beery asked doubtfully. "Boy, not even fully trained Aurors can perform that spell! That's extremely advanced magic work you did there."

Edward knew that his memories of his past lives would get him in trouble some day, but he couldn't tell the annoying professor he had invented the spell himself. So he tried lying. "Are you sure it was-"

"Don't mock me boy!" Beery threatened. "I know a freezing charm when I see one! I was there! I would have gotten stuck in it if I hadn't recognized it in time."

"Well, I'm _sorry_, but I can't remember the spell I cast. And I have no idea what a freezing charm is!" Edward said impatiently.

"That's enough Herbert!" Dippet intervened. He stud from his desk and walked straight to Edward. He placed his hands on his shoulders and asked. "Edward, did you or did you not cast the *_desino tempus_ charm?"

Edward felt a trop on his Oclumency shield and marveled. Dippet was using Legilimensy on him? 'Well, what a bothersome old goat! I should mind crush you!' He thought but then shuck his head furiously 'What was I _thinking_?' He looked around confused.

"Edward?" Dippet asked.

"Edward!" Hannah shook him roughly and he turned to look at her.

"What?" He asked.

"You were spacing out. Is everything ok?" She asked concerned.

"Yeah, just a head ache." He nodded his head and turned back at Dippet. "I didn't cast the spell professor!" He said determined. Even if Dippet scanned his mind he was sure he'd find nothing after all, that wasn't the spell he'd used.

"Alright." Dippet nodded. "You may go. Albus if you wouldn't mind escorting the children."

"Certainly." Dumbledore nodded and rose from his seat. The kids made their way to the door and were just about to exit the room when they heard Beery say.

"I heard the girl scream and I rushed to them. And when I saw the kid suspended in mid air I summoned my broom and flew after him!" He stated proudly. The three sighed and exited the office. Edward had compared Herbert to a much more boastful Alastor Moody, and it seemed he was dead right.

-OOOOOO-

The next morning all the students could talk about was Edward's rescue of the 3rd year Ravenclaw. And as far as rumors go, they weren't quite accurate.

"Hey! Did you hear! A third year Ravenclaw jumped off the astronomy tower and that Cullen 1st year saved him. I hear he grew wings and flew faster then a hippogriff!"

"I hear he started lying until his nose grew long enough to pin the kid 20 feet in the air."

"No he didn't! He crashed his landing by jumping in front of him! I don't know why he's not stuck in the hospital wing on his dead bead."

Being used to dealing with these kinds of emergencies from his time as Cedric, Edward naturally decided to skip breakfast and head to his first class of the day; which he later regretted, seeing as Slughorn started blabbering about that night's events _and _blossomed the story up to his liking.

"And I want you all to give a round of applause for our newest hero Mr. Cullen who has served the school not just educationally but also literally, by saving the life of our poor, confused youngster Mr. Forman. Edward, my boy that was quite a remarkable potion you used there. I didn't know you carried bottles of *peto with you. But being the _diligent_ student that you are, I'm sure you're prepared for any situation."

Edward sank lower in his seat with every lie that came out of Slughorn's mouth, hoping against hope that the students wouldn't notice him. Of course he wasn't so lucky. Every head in the room was turned and looking expectantly at him, as if they were hoping he would share with them the mystery behind the events that occurred the previous night. He seriously considered he wouldn't escape the class alive, but, luckily for him Hannah was still in a fowl mood and was glaring away all of Edward's pursuers, even Slughorn backed down after he received a nasty glare from the girl.

Transfiguration was an entirely different mater. Dumbledore, bless him, continued his class as if nothing ever happened and allowed Edward to leave a good 10 minutes before the class ended. Knowing that going to lunch would be a very bad idea he went to the hospital wing to visit his sick friends.

George was still sleeping and Sirius was loudly complaining about something.

"I can't believe I missed Dumbledore's lesson! And I can't believe I'm whining over missing school! Prongs would be ashamed of me, but Moony would be proud." He grimaced. "Ouch! Tonks, what was that for?" He glared at her and pointed at the pillow which had collided with his head a moment ago.

"Prongs and Moony!" Tonks hissed through gritted teeth and pointed at the nurse.

"Oh! (o_o) They… were… my…pets! Yeah pets! Prongs was my… pet owl! My mom named him like that, bugger if I know where she got it from. And Moony was my pet dog, with sharper teeth and a nasty temper around the full moon. They both died last summer, drowned in the lake, poor things."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." The Miss Gray said. "Now Edward, I hope for your sake you didn't bring them homework cause these kids have to rest, for now."

"No! Don't worry Miss Gray. I only came to visit." Edward assured her.

"Alright the, I'll leave you kids alone." The nurse said and went into her office. Tonks and Sirius peeked at the door to make sure she was gone and then rounded on Edward.

"Ok, Ed, tell us what happened yesterday!" Tonks demanded.

"Guys, can't we do this tomorrow when we have our meeting! I don't want to repeat myself a thousand times!" Edward begged with puppy round eyes which didn't seemed to work on either, but luckily for him Hannah chose that precise moment to enter the room.

"Tonks! Sirius! You'll be lucky if you'll be alive after I'm finish with you!" Her first target was naturally Tonks. "You!" she pointed and accusing finger at her. "You were supposed to be back for dinner young lady. Or what? Now that you're part of the Marauders you think you're free to do anything you want? Well guess again missy! You pull that stunt one more time and I'll strangle you with a chain!"

"Ok, Han, let's calm down shall we!" Sirius tried to reason with her. Hannah turned to glare at him. He gulped. "Or you could pretend I'm not here and carry on." Tonks glared incredulously at him.

"I'm not even goanna start with you." She said glaring hatefully at him. She huffed indignantly and enveloped Tonks in a boon crashing hug. "I was worried you reckless _brat_."

"I know, sorry." Tonks said.

After that Sirius started pestering Edward with questions about Dumbledore's class (he didn't even want to hear about Potions) and Hannah started to force feed Tonks in order to get her back on track with the food she missed yesterday night.

-OOOOOO-

Thursday started out quite good for Harry and Draco. They slept through breakfast, but luckily for them they were on time for Potions.

Transfiguration was as exciting and entertaining as ever, though something seemed to bother the students because they were whispering quietly among themselves. So Draco, the sacred holder of all that is gossip, went to investigate.

"Hey, guess what I found out?" Draco caught up with Harry a few strides from the great hall. He grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him in an empty corridor.

"What? Did someone get killed?" Harry asked amused at seeing the blonde red in the face.

"Almost." Draco said grimacing. "A kid tried to jump off the astronomy tower and the dead guy saved him, apparently."

"What?" Harry asked surprised.

"Yeah, I know," Draco snorted. "Seems like we just can't stay out of the spotlight."

"How did it happen?" He asked confused.

"Ah, I didn't bother to get the full story," Draco waved his hand in dismissal. "You should know better then to trust a rumor Rowling. We'll get the real story from old dead head later."

"You know Draco, you should really stop calling him that! People might get suspicious." Harry scolded him and began walking towards the great hall.

"Suspicious? Of what? Of me mocking kids from the other houses? Rowling that's standard procedure for Slytherin! People might get suspicious of _you_ not mocking kids from other houses." Draco countered. "By the way, did you know that those annoying Marauders are hospitalized? The whole lot of 'em."

Harry stopped dead in his track and turned at neck breaking speed towards Draco. "I thought you said a Ravenclaw tried to jump of the astronomy tower?" He hissed.

"Wow! Easy there! They didn't jump off the tower! Even I don't think they're that stupid or desperate! Apparently they decided on going jogging up and down the stairs until their bodies cracked. That's all." Draco exclaimed. Harry nodded and made a run for the stairs but Draco caught him by the wrist and whispered. "Were the hell do you think you're going?"

Harry spun around to face him. "To see my godfather, were else?"

"Are you mad?" Draco exclaimed. "You absolutely can't do that!"

"Oh really? And why not? Are you gonna stop me?" Harry sarcastically asked and narrowed his eyes.

"If I have to!" Draco warned. "Listen you dimwit! You can't just march in there to see how your godfather is doing because in case you've forgotten: he isn't your godfather anymore! Here he's just another kid, a _Gryffindor_ kid, the same age as you, and you're a _Slytherin_! And in case you've forgotten Slytherins and Gryffindors are at each other's throats like Dumbledore and the Dark Lord used to be!"

Harry sighed and scratched his head frustrated. "I know, but-"

"No buts! You'd better be thankful with knowing they're alive, a bit sick, but alive nonetheless! You'll see them at our next meeting, but until then, no hospital wing visits for you!" Harry nodded resigned. "Now come on! Let's get something to eat!"

Draco walked into the great hall and started chattering with Hyperion and Jean. Harry was stuck staring after him. He still wanted to go to the hospital wing and see his godfather, but he understood why that would be a bad idea, a very bad idea. Still the concern for his godfather won over the rational side of his brain and he decided to go after all. He spared a quick glance towards the great hall and after seeing that the coast was clear, he ran towards the stairs. Unluckily for him, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and knocked head first into someone.

"Au! Sorry! I didn't see-" Harry began apologizing but stopped as soon as he saw who he had bumped into. "Riddle! Fancy seeing you down here. Are you going to lunch?"

"No, not really." Tom answered annoyed. "And next time, please watch where you're going! Or pick someone else to crash into." He picked himself off the floor and walked past Harry towards the dungeons.

'What a jerk! Even to his own house mates.' Harry thought annoyed. He was about to clime the first step when Riddle called him back.

"Wait, Rowling!" Harry turned to look at him. "Actually, I lied. I was going to the Great Hall." He admitted with a smirk. "But now I don't have to."

Harry raised a brow. "Oh really? And why is that?"

"Well, you see… I've noticed the other students acting odd this morning, and I was wondering if you might know why?"

"Ah, I see. You want to know the latest gossip. Too bad you've secluded yourself from the others, or some of you're friends might have told you about it." Harry said a tad amused.

"_Friends_? Please, who needs friends like _them_?" Riddle spat with distaste. "Now, are you going to tell me what's going on or not?" He asked impatiently.

"Well, since you asked so nicely." Harry faked a smile. "It's about a Ravenclaw boy. He apparently jumped off the astronomy tower, and some Hufflepuff saved him."

"Hmm, I see…" Riddle said pensively. He gave Harry one last smirk and started climbing the stairs.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Harry spun around to glare at him.

"I don't see how that is any of your business." Riddle answered nonchalantly.

"It isn't. But aren't you going to go to the Great Hall for breakfast?"

Riddle faked thinking about it and answered. "Hmm, no, I don't think so. There's no use to it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do." He resumed climbing up the stairs.

"Better things to do? Better than eating lunch? Are you suicidal by any chance?" Harry asked annoyance clear in his voice.

"No I'm not! I'm just not hungry." Riddle answered impatiently.

Harry nodded frustrated and gave him a fake smile. "Mm Hmm. Actually I think you _are_. Or you're in denial. I mean you haven't eaten in a _whole week_! I'd be pretty fucked up too if I were you."

Riddle sighed, spun around and started walking up the stairs. "It's been _a pleasure _talking to you Rowling."

"Yeah you to." Harry smirked malevolently and pulled out his wand. "Petrificus Totalus!" The spell hit Tom square in the back. "But the thing _is_." Harry chanted amusedly and started walking towards the now petrified future Dark Lord. "I think, it's time for lunch." He reached Tom and grabbed him by the wrist. "And I think, _you_ should be in the Great Hall. With the rest of us." He smirked in the other's face who was glaring daggers at him. "Let's go get lunch, shall we?" He dragged Tom towards the Great Hall and positioned him in front of the oak doors. "You'd better smile when those doors open or else everyone's gonna find out about you're embarrassing little accident." Harry pushed the front doors opened and whispered a silent "Finite Incantatum" to de-petrify Tom. He pushed the other boy into the Great Hall and started walking towards Draco who was stuck gaping at him.

Tom gave Harry one last death glare and followed him towards the Slytherin table. He decided to get back at the annoying brat. So when Harry was about to take his usual seat next to Draco Tom grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him towards a more secluded side of the Slytherin table. Harry sighed in annoyance and sat down. "You think this is funny?" Riddle hissed in a menacing voice.

"No, do you?" Harry turned to look at him bored. "You're acting like a child, you know that?"

"Oh, _I'm_ acting like a child?" Riddle growled. "Because _I_ was the one who petrified you and _dragged_ you in the bloody Great Hall!"

"Well you _have_ to eat, don't you?" Harry shot back. "And interact with people once in a while. It'll do you no good to keep avoiding people like this! You need to _talk_ to them!"

"Who says I haven't been talking!" Riddle folded his arms over his chest.

"The fact that you had to harass me into telling you what's going on!" Harry answered in a sing song voice.

"I didn't harass you! You told me of your own free will!" Tom said outraged.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Fine! Let's just eat shall we?" Riddle gave him one last hateful glare and started eating. Harry smirked inwardly. '2 for me, 0 for Riddle.' He giggled.

"If you dare tell _anyone_ about that stunt you pulled earlier I'll rip you to pieces." Riddle threatened.

"Yeah, whatever." Harry said and turned to smirk in Draco's direction (who was still glaring at them).

-OOOOOO-

That night Harry and Draco were celebrating in the boy's bathroom.

"Ha ha! I can't believe you petrified Riddle! Dang I wish I could have been there to see it." Draco laughed and pulled out two bottles of butter bear from underneath the sink. "I love that stupid map." He tossed a bottle to Harry. "It's one of the few good things those blasted Marauders did right."

"Hey! That's my father you're talking about!" Harry huffed and opened his bottle of bottler bear.

"Yeah, sorry bout that." Draco took a mock bow. "Oh, mighty Gryffindor king, we thank thy for without they help we couldn't of sucked into the Head Hound and stolen these bottles of butter beard, without whom this meeting would have been pointless." He finished and took a sip of his butter bear.

"Draco you _cheep bastard_! You told me you paid for these!" Harry huffed indignantly.

"And what was I supposed to do? Tell old Dumbles's brother I'm a first year who wants some alcohol? He might hate Dumbles but he would of rat me out." Draco said sarcastically. "And besides, it's more fun this way!" He grinned and took another sip of his drink.

Harry shrugged and drank his drink to. "Hey, Draco! Do you think I'm in trouble? You know with Riddle?"

"Oh yeah, definitely, you're screwed!" Draco said reassuringly. "I mean he snapped Hyperion's arm for scolding him, but you…you're so screwed. I'll have to buy a suit for your funeral." He pondered.

"Why thank you! You've been of such great help." Harry said sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Draco held up his butter bear. "Bottom's up!"

Harry shrugged. "Bottom's up."

-OOOOOO-

Meanwhile, in the courtyard.

"So, remind me _why_ are we here again?" Hannah asked Edward while tightening her hold on her plover.

"I told you before Han," Edward said. "Were here to make sure that kid doesn't try to kill himself again."

"Oh, come on Edward! He was sleepwalking!" Hannah hissed through clenched teeth.

"No he wasn't! The nurse said he was awake. Apparently he has split personality."

"That's a load of rubbish! And besides, if he _wanted_ to kill himself, why are we stopping him?" She asked uncertain.

Edward turned to look at her seriously. "Hannah, that kid didn't jump because he wanted to, nor because of a split personality, he was forced to jump!"

Hannah regarded Edward strangely. "What…Why would you think that?"

"Because," He bit his lip nervously and answered. "Because I could _feel_ it. The trace of magic. It was week, almost nonexistent, but it was there!" Hannah looked even more confused then before. "Somebody cast a spell on him! Someone forced that kid to jump Han! And I'm sure it's gonna try again."

"Why didn't you tell the Head Master then?"

"Because he wouldn't have believed me!" Edward said exasperatedly. "Look, the only reason why I felt that trace of that magic is because of my time as a vampire. I think I have the senses of one, and I couldn't just go on and tell the Headmaster about that now could I?"

"No you couldn't." Hannah said worried. "But Ed, even if you're right we won't solve anything by waiting here for the kid to jump again! If he jumps. We should let the adults take care of this and go to sleep. It's cold out here!"

"What, are you chickening out on me now?" Edward asked a little down.

Hannah sighed. "No, I'm not! I'm just tired."

"Alright." Edward gave in. "We'll wait here until 1:15 ok? Then we'll head back to bed. Promise!"

"Ok." Hannah said and sat down on a bench. "I hope we don't wait here for nothing."

"Yeah," Edward said and sat down besides her. "Me too."

desino tempus = stop time (Latin)

Peto = to fly (Greek)


	10. Chapter 09: Never on Time

**A/N**: Here's chapter 9! Hope you enjoy it and please Review!

**Chapter 9: Never on Time.**

Tonks and Sirius walked into the Great Hall the next morning feeling better then they had in weeks. Madam Gray had released them from the hospital wing but advised them to take it easy for the time being, meaning Sirius had a plausible excuse to ditch today's classes. George had barely woken up this morning and was feeling about as good as one would feel after being run over by a train. Though he insisted he was dying, Madam Gray assured him he'd be up and running in two days.

"K Tonks, see you in the afternoon." Sirius winked and headed for the Gryffindor table. Hermione had insisted they have a meeting today, which interfere with Sirius's plans for the staff room, but he'd get to that later.

"Ok, but don't be late, or I'll have Hermione _and_ Luna on my back!" She warned and headed for the Hufflepuff table. She took her usual seat next to Hannah and Edward and noticed the two were dozing of. Edward's spoon had nearly fallen out of his hand and Hannah's head was getting dangerously close to her fried eggs. "What happened to you two?" Tonks asked concerned.

Hannah turned to look tired at her and answered. "Mm, we ad a long nig t."

"Am, ok…I guess." Tonks shock her head and began eating.

"Sissy dear!" Luna strolled by and patted Hannah on the shoulder. "Don't forget about 3 o'clock." She said in a sing song voice and bounced back to the Ravenclaw table.

"Hmm? Yeah, whatever." Hannah said and placed her head on the table.

At the Slytherin table Harry and Draco were having a hard time staying awake themselves.

"Oh, my head. Damn, did we really drink that much last night?" Harry asked while rubbing harshly at his temple.

"I s'pose so." Draco yawned and turned his puffy red eyes towards Abraxas, who was apparently talking to him.

"Draco, Harry did you listen to a word I said?" He asked annoyed.

"Not really." Harry answered while suppressing a yawn.

"I said there will be a pop quiz in Defense today! I was telling you the questions and the answers!" He said exasperatedly.

"Oh, really?" Asked Draco mildly concerned. "Sorry but that's not half as interesting as a pop quiz in Charms. Please warn me months before one of those!"

"How do you know anyways?" Harry asked.

"My father knows the teacher. He used to be one of her favorite students, so she chit-chats with him from time to time." Abraxas stated proudly.

"Hmm, that's interesting." Harry said and banged his head on the table.

"Look man, if you want something for your head just go to the hospital wing!" Abraxas said annoyed.

"Cant, cause of underage drinking." Harry admitted.

"Oh, no problem. I'll tell my brother to get you something. Lestrange! Go tell my brother I need to talk to him!"

Leonisius sent Abraxas a death glare but did what he was told.

"So, how did you manage to bring Riddle to lunch the other day?" Abraxas asked intrigued.

"I told him there was candy." Harry answered bored. Abraxas looked at him funny and resumed eating; he'd try preying for information some other time.

Breakfast ended much too slowly for the kids and the mornings class went by just as slow.

It turned out Abraxas was right about the test in Defense. And the questions. And the answers. So naturally all of the Slytherins passed with flying colors. The Gryffindors weren't as lucky. In fact the only ones who _did_ pass the test were Angelica Heart and Sirius (who was forced to go to classes by Hermione).

Sirius, the ever so generous of the lot, rushed out of class before the bell rang to warn Hannah about the pop quiz and later found out, to his disappointment, that she passed with a straight A thanks to her_ boyfriend_ Edward, who apparently could complete the blasted test even half asleep.

Herbology however was a bit problematic. Beery, the ever paranoid, held a pop quiz of his own (which wasn't remotely related to Herbology). He asked the children to describe what a time stopping spell was, how it worked and to give at least 5 examples of such spells. Naturally the test was given only to the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws (who were unfortunate enough to share the class with them).

Hermione was furious by the end of the class seeing as she wasn't among those who passed (never mind the fact that _none_ _had_).

Edward failed intentionally. Oh, he knew a number of 10 spells which could stop time (a few he had invented himself), but he wasn't going to prove the annoying bastard right. And there he was judging people again. He didn't remember being so grudge-full in his past lives…well except maybe when he was a vampire, but that didn't count! He _did_ however curse Beery when the fat bastard gave him one month's worth of detention (with him), for lying on a test.

So naturally lunch was a lot less cheerful and a lot more like a funeral for most of the kids.

Hermione was ranting at the Ravenclaw table about unjust teachers who didn't know what their own subject was about and Luna was getting irked.

"Hermione, enough already! We heard you the last ten times! Do you seriously think we're not pissed? Because that was unfair of him! It had nothing to do with Herbology. Merlin, I doubt even Defense covers this subject! So stop it!"

Hermione turned to glare at her. "Alright then! I won't criticize Professor Beery. But I'll throttle Edward when I see him! Where is he anyways?"

"He and Han skipped breakfast.T said something about being too tired to eat." Luna answered glad for the change in subject.

"Well I hope they remember about our meeting!" Hermione said through gritted teeth and viciously stabbed her meat.

"I made sure to remind them of it. Now, stop poking that meat and eat it!" Luna ordered.

-OOOOOO-

After lunch Tonks met up with Sirius in the dungeons to discuss their upcoming prank.

"Ok Sirius. We've got one hour before the group meeting and I think our two Raven friends will keep us until dinner, so I suggest we set the prank now!"

"I couldn't agree more!" Sirius nodded. "And we don't have George here with us. But it doesn't matter! Did you plant the traps?"

"Yeah, I did it before lunch like you said. There shouldn't be anyone in the staff room right now." She said confident.

"Ok, then let's hurry up!" Sirius grinned and ran up the corridor which led to the staff room.

They were planning on making a disco-time-bomb explode in there. They had to jinks the chairs to make weirs animal noises whenever someone sat in them, make the drawers pop balloons, flowers or animals when they were opened (and plant a very special punch in the face hand in Beery's drawer for being such a prat), plus make the chandelier turn into a disco-ball and some other stuff which they weren't certain could be done in the limited amount of time they had on their hands.

And they couldn't postpone it either seeing as Tonks already planted the decoy to lure the teachers out of there.

There were two entrances to the staff room. The one students used (first turn on the left after you exited the great hall) and the one teachers used (the back door, which had a special corridor connecting it to the great hall). So Tonks had snuck in the staff room when lunch had started and had set a number of jinxes, hexes and booby traps to keep the teachers preoccupied while they worked.

The two Marauders entered the staff room and grinned. "Oh yeah, baby. Show time!" Sirius said in a devilish voice.

-OOOOOO-

Draco and Harry were one of the few first years who were extremely pleased with themselves at lunch; well them and the whole Slytherin first years. Their house mates, the ever opportunists, bashed and ridiculed all the students, even the Ravenclaws (because Tom was praised for having the best answers) and especially the Gryffindors for failing the defense test. Draco was definitely enjoying boosting his ego around with the other Slytherins but Harry was plain bored.

"Are you done yet? Or do you want to pick on more random and defenseless first years?" He asked his blonde friend.

"Are you kidding me? This is the best day of my life!" Draco said and turned to grin in his face. "I've missed this thing _so much_, I almost forgot how it felt! Almost! I'd even skip Hermione's meeting to go brag some more if I weren't so scared of those two." Harry rolled his eyes at him.

"Fine! When you're done, I'll be in the Room of Requirement." He said and headed for the stairs. He hadn't even reached the forth floor when he bumped into the last person he wanted to see today.

"Is it a hobby of yours now Rowling to bump into me once a day?" Tom asked annoyed.

"I don't know. Is it a hobby of yours to pop up wherever I go?" Harry countered feeling affronted.

"No, though I _was_ looking for you." A devilish smile mad its way on Riddle's face and Harry suddenly became aware of the wand in the other's hand.

"Oh," he started walking backwards, Riddle followed his lead. "Well, that's too bad, because I don't have time right now," he slowly began reaching for his wand with his right hand and scratched his head with his left, while smiling apologetically. "You see I promised my friend from Ravenclaw I'd help her with something."

"Mm Hmm, right. Because you have friends. So you don't have too much time on your hands." Riddle said while faking to ponder over it. "But you see, I don't really have nor need _friends_ so all I had to do last night was ponder on how to get back at you for, well, you know…"

"Man you must have really been bored." Harry laughed nervously as he reached the final step of the stairs. He noticed, to his dismay, that the steps that lead down to the second floor were missing so all he could do was make a run for the corridor, which he doubted was quick enough.

"Acio!" And there goes his wand straight into Riddle's outstretched hand. "I don't think you'll be needing this."

"Ha, you know the summoning charm!" Harry stated.

"Ha, you know the petrifying charm!" Riddle countered in an amused voice. "What? Is stating the obvious your new hobby?"

"Not really." Harry said and eyed the two wands nervously. He could do some wandless magic, but that was before he was shrunk back to his 11 year old self. Plus he doubted he'd be a match for Riddle without a wand. "Is there a way we could talk this out?" He asked hopefully.

Riddle smiled and shook his head. "Not a chance. Stupefy!" And Harry saw black.

-OOOOOO-

Draco walked into the Room of Requirement at approximately 3:05 and was surprised to see it shaped like the Ravenclaw common room (which was dyed in more tolerable shades of blue, rather then the ostentatious gold and red he was so used to associate with the room) and only his two Ravenclaw friends there looking positively pissed. "Where are the rest?" He asked perplexed.

"I don't know." Hermione said through gritted teeth.

"Well its past 3 o'clock so I'm gonna try and reach them through the note books you gave us." Luna said and pulled out her note book. "_Guys! It's already past 3! Where are you?_" She wrote and waited for them to answer. 5 minutes later no one had.

"Ok this is getting ridiculous! Why can't those annoying ingrates ever come on time for once? Do I really have to drag their asses in here myself?" Hermione asked outraged.

"Seems so." Draco answered bored.

"Ok stop your whining!" Luna threatened. "We'll go and search for them ourselves!"

"Oh, just great! So they don't show up on time so we have to go searching for their sorry asses." Draco said bitter.

"Yes we do!" Luna said sending him a warning glare to shut his mouth. "I'll go and search for Hannah, Tonks and Edward, Draco'll go looking for Harry and Hermione can go looking for Sirius. We'll meat back here in an hour." Luna said and reached for the door.

-OOOOOO-

"Sirius, remind me how we got in this mess again?" Tonks asked while trying to reach for her wand (which was a kind of hard for someone in her position).

They had successfully planted most of the traps but unfortunately for them, Sirius had stepped on one of the permanent sticking charms and had fallen on a chair in the process, which started howling like an enraged werewolf and had activated the sound sensitive booby traps in the room (which had effectively pinned Tonks to the ceiling). The disco ball was illuminating the staff room and playing a weird Muggle song but the drawer charms were still intact.

"I don't know." Sirius faked ignorance. He had been stuck in the chair for nearly two hours. His wand had flown out of his hand and he was afraid to move from his position or else he might activate another one of his booby traps (the instant inflate one he had placed on the chairs to make them pop like balloons when a person tried to get up).

"Where are those bloody teachers when you need them?" Tonks asked vexed.

"Hey! Do you _want_ to get caught at the scene of the crime?" Sirius asked pissed.

"No! But I don't see any other way out! Or what do you have another brilliant idea up your sleeve?" She hissed venomously.

"As a mater of fact I do!" Sirius stated proudly. "The note books Hermione gave us!" He held out his hand and showed her his note book. "I've asked Hannah to come and save us a few minutes ago. It shouldn't take too long."

-OOOOOO-

Luna was patiently waiting outside the Hufflepuff common room. She had bumped into Demeter Greengrass (1st year Hufflepuff who apparently had a crush on her), while heading for the Hufflepuff common room and he had vehemently insisted that he would help her in any way possible, even if it meant dragging her sister and Edward out of the common room himself.

A few minutes later the boy came out with a sleeping Edward on his shoulders. "Here…he…is." He managed to say between pants and laid Edward down on the floor. "I'll bring your sister out in a minute." He assured her and went back in.

"Thank you!" Luna smiled sweetly at him. When he closed the door however her smile faded and she glared down at Edward's sleeping frame. "Agwamenty!" She drenched the boy in cold water.

"What! Where? Who?" Edward asked alarmed and choked on the water which was still coming from Luna's wand. "Luna?" He looked at her confused.

"Hello there, sleeping prince. I hope you enjoyed your nap!" She mocked him. "Mind telling me why you didn't come to the meeting?" She asked curiously. "Don't tell me you slept in because that's ridiculous." She joked but the smile faded off her face when she saw the guilty expression of the boy. "Are you kidding me?" She growled. "We went straight to _the room_ after lunch and you ditched us for an afternoon nap?" She shook her head disappointed.

In the mean time Demeter came out carrying Hannah in his arms. "I brought her!" He stated proudly. He placed Hannah on the floor next to Edward and looked expectantly at Luna.

"Thank you." Luna forced a smile. "I'd like to talk to my sister alone."

"Oh, no problem!" Demeter assured. "But Pandora wasn't in there. Do you want me to go looking for her?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, I'd appreciate it." Demeter nodded and left.

"You know, you shouldn't ask him for help. He's obsessed with you." Edward warned.

"I can handle a stalker!" She raged.

"If you say so." Edward sighed and tried to wake Hannah up before Luna soaked her awake too. "Han! Wake up Han!"

Hannah cracked an eye opened and yawned. "What?" She asked sleepily.

"Hey, sissy. Would you mind waking up now?" Luna asked in a sweet voice.

"LUNA?" Hannah was up on her feet in no time, all traces of sleep gone from her eyes. "What are you doing here?" She asked nervously. Luna smiled wickedly at her.

-OOOOOO-

30 minutes had passed since Sirius had written to Hannah and he was beginning to lose hope that she'd come.

"Sirius! Write to someone else!" Tonks wined.

"No! I'm sending her another message." Sirius said and began writing stubbornly.

"Oh, come on! I'm getting ceiling sick here! I might throw up on you!" She warned.

Just then they hear foot steps outside the door. "Ha! I knew she'd come!" Sirius said excited.

"Headmaster?" A girl stepped in the room. "Merlin's beard! What happened here?"

"Minerva?" Tonks exclaimed near tears.

"Pandora? Kendrick? What are you doing here?" She asked baffled.

"Well you see-" Sirius tried to explain but Tonks cut him off.

"Get me down from here, please!"

"Oh, right. Just hold on!"

10 minutes later Minerva, Sirius and Tonks were in the girl's bathroom on the ground floor waiting for Tonks to finish throwing up.

"Are you alright Pandora?" Minerva asked concerned.

"No." Tonks answered weekly and threw up again.

"Ok…" Minerva turned her attention to the other person in the room. "So, I'm guessing you were the ones who turned the staff room into a Halloween fiasco. But how did you end up in that mess?"

Sirius scratched his head embarrassed. "Well you see I sort off stepped in the wrong place at the wrong time." Minerva chuckled slightly. "You're not gonna tell on us, are you?"

"Are you kidding me?" She asked amused. "After you finally made this boring school interesting? Hell no! I'm on your side 100%."

"Phew, that's a relief!" He sighed.

"Yeah, all we needed now was the teachers on our back." Tonks said while stepping out of the toilet. She was green in the face, her right hand was clutching her stomach and her feet were barely supporting her.

Sirius picked her up into his arms and said resigned. "Madam Gray is so not gonna like this."

-OOOOOO-

Harry was blissfully happy at the moment. He figured if there was a heaven, this was what it would feel like. It didn't bother him all that much that he was seeing double, or that he couldn't feel his legs or hands for the mater. No it didn't bother him at all, in fact he liked it like that. He had a huge grin on his face to prove it. He never wanted to wake up, and he wouldn't of either if it hadn't been for the cold bucket of water someone pored down on him.

"Harry! Do you hear me?" A familiar voice asked.

"No. I don't think he's drunk. I think someone cursed him." Another familiar voice said.

"Maybe we should take him to Madam Gray." Someone suggested.

"Or maybe you could shut that mouth of yours!" The second voice said. "I can handle this." A strange brown stick appeared in Harry's line of view and some muttering lather his feet started to land on the ground. His vision cleared but his body was still numb. A sharp pain took the place of the blissful feeling.

"Ah, what happened to me?" He asked confused.

"You were cursed with the _happy curse_." Hyperion Malfoy said from somewhere behind him.

He looked around the room and recognized it as the shower cabinet of the Slytherin bath room. There were 3 people in the room with him. Hyperion, his girlfriend, Jane Seymour and Stuwey Griffin (the devil incarnated in the flesh). Jane came up to him and offered him a towel.

"Abraxas went to bring you some clothes. Are you feeling alright?" She asked concerned.

"Yeah, except for the aching in my head, everything's fine." Then he looked down at himself and asked. "Where are my clothes?"

"Well, you see," Stuwey began. "That's how we found you: wandering around the corridors looking positively high and wearing only your boxers. Man you made a real show of yourself!" He said laughing.

"Stuwey!" Jane warned.

"That son of a bitch!" Harry swore.

"You know who did this to you?" Hyperion asked. "Tell me and I'll have his head shaved! No one messes with us Slytherins!"

"And especially not with my baby mascot." Jane said and hugged Harry. He liked her. She was like those annoying older sisters who got to bully and embarrassed you in public, but that aside, she was fun to be around (if only to see others get their share of humiliation). Yep she was definitely a charm.

A knock was heard form the door and a few moments later Draco and Abraxas stepped in the room. "Rowling what in Quidditch's name happened to you?" Draco asked perplexed.

"Nothing." Harry forced a smile. "Did you bring my clothes?"

"Yeah, they're right here." Abraxas handed him his clothes.

"Wait a second!" Hyperion stopped him. "You haven't told me who did this to you!"

"The fairy godmother! Now, cam I have my clothes?" He asked irked.

Abraxas handed him his clothes and he and Stuwey left the room and dragged Jean with them.

"Are you scared of this guy?" Hyperion asked. "Cause I can take care of him!" He assured.

Harry looked at him strangely. "Yeah, I'll bet." He said sarcastically and pulled his blue jeans on. "Draco, did you have to pick the orange T-shirt? Hmm, I didn't know I had an orange T-shirt." He looked at Draco inquisitively.

"Apparently, you do!" Draco said.

"You don't think I can take care of this guy?" Hyperion asked annoyed. Harry and Draco (who realized which person Harry was talking about), gave him sympathetic looks. "What? Who is it? Tell me!" Hyperion ordered.

Harry ignored him and stormed out of the bathroom to go search for Riddle. He found Tom in the Slytherin common room talking with some 7th years about their Arithmancy homework. Riddle lifted his head and smirked when he saw him coming.

"Rowling. I heard you had a small incident this afternoon. Hope you're not too shaken up about it?" Tom asked him, amusement clear in his voice.

Harry stopped right in front of him, his fist clenched tight into balls. Hyperion came up to him and asked exasperatedly. "Will you tell me already who did it?" He asked but then saw the glare that Harry was sending Riddle and froze. Tom turned to scowl at him.

"Your girlfriend was looking for you earlier. You better go find her." He said with a warning glare. Hyperion nodded stiffly and left.

"We need to talk!" Harry said coldly.

Riddle stood up and walked out into the corridor, an amused smile on his face.

"Do you think that's funny?" Harry hissed the moment he was out the door.

"Yes, I do. Too bad I didn't have a camera with me." Tom sighed sadly.

"You know the only thing I did was bring you down to diner!" Harry shouted enraged. "But if you wanna turn this in an all out war, then war is what you'll get! Don't say I didn't warn you!" Harry said and stormed back into the common room.

Riddle chuckled. "This should be interesting."


	11. Chapter 10: The day the demon was born

**A/N:** Chapter 10's finally up! Te-he, sorry for the long wait, I had no idea what to write (just kidding, I was lazy and I've been working one another fanfic of mine).

You know the usual drill: REVIEW! (Even if it's just an 'I like it!' or 'I hate it!' [Though I'd appreciate if you'd tell me why you hate it!]), with that said, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 10: The day the demon was born**

"Run, Draco!" Abraxas Malfoy shouted while rushing at top speed out of the Slytherin common room. The rest of the Slytherins weren't far behind him.

Draco sighed in frustration. He had been in the library all day working on his Defense essay and for the first time in weeks he just wanted to sit down an relax. But, apparently Riddle and Rowling couldn't of picked some other place instead of the Slytherin common room to solve their differences and it was commonly known that you'd have to be suicidal to stand anywhere near those two when they were having a fight. So, Draco wisely turned 180 and darted for the Room of Requirement.

It had been a week since Harry and Tom declared war on each other and it hadn't been a pleasant one for the Slytherins, especially for Draco. He couldn't even remember how many times he'd ended up in the hospital wing thanks to their altercations.

Miss Muller had told Harry to stop, that they were here to befriend Riddle but to no avail, even Luna and Hermione's threats didn't work on him. So, they two had let them be after Hermione had been hit by a rather nasty curse when she had tried to stop one of their minor arguments.

The worse part was that Riddle had come out of hiding, and was now talking to the Slytherins, which had angered Tonks to the point that she had, not once, but trice suggested they kidnap Riddle and keep him away from those _mean and ugly little harpies_ (not that he wasn't one himself mind you).

Sirius and George hadn't had much time to plan pranks or enjoy the success of the 3 they_ had _managed to pull of in the last week, because Tonks had insisted they concentrate on befriending Riddle first and leave the pranks for lather. So, the two were stuck goggling the Marauders map all day long, and searching for the evasive little bastard.

Edward (who was still pissed at Riddle for getting better results then him on last weeks defense test) and Hermione (who was pissed at him for the same reason and the trip she had to the hospital wing) had more then once suggested they off Riddle (to everyone's surprise). Of course they had given legitimate reasons for their drastic decision like: _he's gonna kill Harry!_ Or: _he was the one to force that boy to jump off the astronomy tower_! And let's not forget everybody's personal favorite: _it would be so much easier if he were dead!_ EVERYONE agreed with that! Though, Draco (of all people), had reminded them that they shouldn't sink that low, yet.

To Hannah's relief, Edward had given up on his midnight stroll in the courtyard after a week and a half of no incidents revolving the astronomy tower, being late for two more meetings with the others, nearly being caught by the caretaker, Matt Brown and not to mention that the sleepless nights had won him 2 more weeks of detention with Beery.

"I hate that pig!" Edward growled after returning from his detention.

"Yes hun, I know," Hannah sighed and resumed writing on her defense essay.

"Why, what did he do?" Tonks asked curious and Hannah cursed.

"What _didn't_ he do? He had me writing _I will not tell lies _for the first half an hour and then he started interrogating me about time freezing spells! _Like always_! I'm bloody lucky that he hasn't tried Veritaserum on me yet!" He complained though he had noticed in the past couple of weeks that he was immune to certain potions, he still doubted he'd be able to resist that.

Hannah grabbed her essay and bolted from the room leaving a dejected Tonks to listen to Edward ramble on and on for 2 hours about what a jerk Beery was. 'Hump, serves her right for asking!' Hannah sneered un-remorsefully.

-OOOOOO-

Luna had a stalker problem. She had never in her life considered that a person could be that much obsessed with another that they'd follow their every move! But it seems Demeter Greengrass thought there was nothing wrong with following her around (even into the girl's bathroom!). She had barely evaded him last time when they had a meeting and he was at it again! She long grew tired of his gawkiness and decided it was about time she told him to go to hell. So, after diner, she told Hermione to go back to the common room by herself and ran straight to the Astronomy tower knowing Demeter would follow. She entered the Astronomy classroom and locked the door. Then she proceeded to lay out her trap.

"Luna?" Demeter knocked on the Astronomy classroom door. He had seen the girl go in, and wondered what she was doing here, after all, the class started at midnight. He tried to open the door but found it locked. "Alohomora!" He said and cheered when the lock gave a soft click annunciate that it was opened.

"Luna?" He cracked the door open and peeked inside.

The class was definitely one of the weirdest rooms that Hogwarts had ever had. It was large and had enough benches to accommodate all the first years. Each of the benches were engraved with a model of the night sky and a gigantic telescope, which was connected to the ceiling, hung over them. The walls were filled with posters, illustrations and images of the constellations, galaxies and the 9 planets that surrounded the sun. The teacher's desk was a tad larger then the rest but made out of the same maple tree as everything else. It was full with books, sketches, maps, parchment, ink and a model of the solar system which was charmed to move in conformation with the planets.

Demeter stared at it for a little while and then noticed the store room, on the left side of the teacher's desk was opened. Curiosity got the best of him and he went to check it out. They weren't really allowed in that room - last he heard it was supposed to be locked.

As soon as he entered the room the door banged shut and a soft click was heard from the lock. "What? Hey is somebody out there?" Demeter asked while banging on the door.

"Yeah, you bet there is!" Luna's chuckling voice was heard from somewhere behind the door. "Now listen to me you little minx! I don't appreciate the fact that you've taking to stalking me as your new sport, so I'm gonna say this only once: Stop now or you'd better jump off the roof, because the next time I catch you at it you'll be in a lot more trouble then this!" She shouted and stormed out of the room. She had placed one of the Weasley brother's permanent sticking charm on the door so it would be a while before Demeter managed to get out of there.

-OOOOOO-

Midnight came much too slow in Tonks's opinion, but thank Merlin it finally did and Edward finally stopped ranting about what a jerk Beery was when said teacher came into the Hufflepuff common room to take the children to the Astronomy tower. Hannah rejoined the group and was careful to sit as far away from Tonks (who was glaring hatefully at her), as possible.

"Everyone here?" Beery asked.

"Demeter Greengrass is missing, sir!" Eleanor Branstone, a known member of the Riddle fan club answered.

Beery sighed. "I want the prefects out looking for him while I take the first years to class, then I'll join the search." He said and exited the common room.

Edward was one of the last to go hoping that Beery might stick in the front of the line like he usually did, but to his misfortune, the bastard waited for all of the kids to leave the common room and walked right behind Edward.

-OOOOOO-

Professor Horace Slughorn, head of Slytherin house, made his way to the Slytherin common room at approximately 23:45, like he always did on a Wednesday night, in order to lead his first years to the Astronomy tower for their class. He never really understood the use for an Astronomy class, nor the reason why it had its own tower on the campus. I mean seriously, potions was a much more important subject which was required in many of the Ministry jobs, but _he_ didn't have his own bloody Potion's tower, no, he got stuck with the dungeons, which wasn't half bad, but still…

He was pulled out of his thought as he came across what must have been every Slytherin in the school standing a good 5 classes away from the common room.

"What are you all doing out here?" Slughorn asked confused.

"Riddle and Rowling decided to use the common room as their battle ground today." Hyperion Malfoy answered.

Slughorn nodded uncertainly and went to investigate. He remembered hearing rumors about the two, but seriously, they were first years! How bad could it be? His question was answered the moment he stepped into the Slytherin common room.

The small oak table that was closest to the entrance exploded right in his face. A loud bang was heard from somewhere to his right and the shouts of the two youngsters were echoing in the dungeons, but Slughorn was too busy covering his face to take notice.

"That was cheating!" Harry threw another Stunning hex.

"A-ha, can you prove it?" Riddle mocked and lazily cast a shield to deflect the curs. "Or else the words you said are nothing but meaningless rambles coming from a kid who didn't get his way! Conjunctivitis!"

"I can cast the Lumos spell perfectly you ass! You jinxed my wand to jump out of my hand!" Harry blocked the upcoming spell and was about to cast another one of his trademark Stupefy when suddenly his wand flew straight out of his hand and into professor Slughorn's awaiting one along with Tom's wand.

"What were you boys _thinking_!" Slughorn shrieked and pointed at the now destroyed common room. The furniture was scattered around the floor, the walls were filled with cracks and most of the paintings were half torn to shreds.

"He started it!" The boys said in union and pointed at the other.

Slughorn gave a frustrated sight. "And what do I care who started it? I care that the room looks like a pig's hall! I'm sure you boys know you're not the only ones living here!" He chastised. "And this rivalry between you is unhealthy for both your dorm mats and yourselves, I will have to ask you to stop this madness right now!"

"Oh, I'll stop alright," Harry said. "When he stops pestering me!" He glared hatefully at Riddle.

"Pestering you?" Riddle asked in an affronted tone. "Last I recall it was you who picked a fight with me!"

"Boys!" Slughorn tried to intervene, but Harry wouldn't have any of it.

"Oh, so now _I_ picked a fight with _you_? Bull shit!" He swore. "You were the one to embarrass me in front of the whole school!"

"Because you deserved it!" Riddle sneered. "And let's not forget the little stunt you pulled when you glued my hand to the tea cup!"

"Yeah, so? You drugged me to insult the Charms teacher! And I got detention with her for the rest of the bloody year!" Harry accused.

"Boys!" Slughorn said a little more forcefully.

"I didn't drug you! I only gave you a sip of the truth potion. It was your own misfortune for telling her what you though."

"Fuck you Riddle!" Harry snapped.

"Hmm, I didn't know you swing that way. Well, at least you have tastes!" Tom said in a smug voice.

"GO TO HELL!" Harry bellowed.

"DETENTION, the both of you!" Slughorn roared and slammed his foot down unfortunately on a broken piece of glass and fell on his face. Harry had to suppress a chuckle.

"Professor, I think it's time for our Astronomy class," Riddle said seemingly unfazed.

"Tomorrow at 8 o'clock, my office, the both of you!" Slughorn squawked and picked himself off the floor. He grabbed a hold of Tom and Harry's hands and marched out of the common room.

The other Slytherins marveled when they saw Slughorn, relatively unharmed (if you didn't count the red nose and puffy eyes), walking towards them with Harry and Tom at his heals. He stopped in front of Hyperion and told him to pick his team of prefects and clean up the common room and then ordered the first years to follow him.

They met the Hufflepuffs on their way out of the dungeons and the Ravenclaw and Gryffindors at the entrance hall.

They had barely exited the castle when William Weasley said "professor! There's a kid on top of the Astronomy tower!" The students and teachers lifted their heads toward the roof.

"It's Demeter!" Eleonor exclaimed and in the next moment Demeter jumped.

A piercing scream escaped most of the female first years, but none was as loud as Luna's. Edward entirely forgot about the minor detail that Beery was standing right behind him and wiped out his wand faster then Dumbledore could and fired a spell. Fortunately for Edward it seemed a part of him hadn't forgot about the large amount of audience he had because the spell he fired wasn't a time stopping spell, but a simple Wingardium Leviosa.

Demeter's fall took an abrupt stop and the boy was left suspended upside-down in midair.

Beery didn't waste another minute, he summoned his broom and flew towards Demeter with such speed that he barely evaded knocking head first into the Astronomy tower. Edward released his hold on Demeter when he saw the other boy secure in Beery's hands and sighed in relief.

Beery landed on the ground and began examining his pupil while the Hufflepuffs encircled him. Luna was stuck in place glaring at the boy in Beery's hands.

"Is he alright professor?" Tonks asked concerned.

Demeter gave a soft snore and cracked an eye opened. "Ha? What am I doing here?"

That was all it took for Luna to snap out of her daze. She rushed towards Demeter and pushed his fellow house mates aside.

'How _dare he_!' Was all that was running through Luna's head. He was a stalker that was clear to her, but to go to the extent of jumping off the roof in order to prove… what? That he'd rather die then quit stalking her? Was he that obsessed that he'd pull such a desperate act? If he wanted to kill himself _fine_! But he should have thought better then to try and blame _her_ for _his_ inability to get a girlfriend! She'd show him!

"Demeter are you alri- hey!" Eleonor Brunston huffed indignant as she was pushed aside by Luna.

"I'm his girlfriend!" She snapped shocking the girl and Demeter himself.

"WHAT?" Draco practically shrieked startling Harry and most of the Slytherins besides him.

"Re-really?" Demeter asked hopefully.

"You!" Luna turned her blazing eyes towards him and bellowed. "What were you THINKING!" She banged him on the head with her Astronomy book.

"Aw! Luna, I'm sorry!" Demeter apologized, though he didn't know for what, but Luna paid him no mind and continued swinging the heavy book on his head and shouting at the top of her lungs.

"WHAT WERE YOU _THINKING_ PULLING A STUNT LIKE THAT?"

"Miss Bouquet!" Paul cried and darted towards his student.

"What stunt?" Demeter asked confused and tried in vain to shield himself from Luna's attacks, but to no avail, because when Luna swung the book to hard so it flew out of her hand she suddenly remembered she had a wand and began throwing hexes at the poor boy.

"AVIS!" She shouted and birds sprang out of her wand and headed towards Demeter. Unluckily for her Beery transfigured them into feathers and pulled Demeter out of firing range by casting a quick "ACIO!" charm. Paul managed to get a hold of Luna and took her wand from her hand.

"Miss Bouquet I'm going to have to ask you to calm down this instant!" Paul order while keeping a firm grip on the still struggling child.

"YOU!" Luna roared, hot tears staining down her flushed cheeks. "YOU'D BETTER CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY IF YOU GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE YOU STUPID LITTLE MINX!"

"WHY?" Demeter finally broke down at seeing the girl cry. "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! You left me trapped in the supplies room!" He sniffed softly and tears started filling his eyes. "I don't know how I got here! I don't know why you're so mad about!" He shouted and began crying too.

Something inside Luna seemed to snap at hearing those words. 'He didn't jump because of me…' A heavy weight seemed to be lifting from her shoulders. 'It wasn't my fault,' she kept repeating over and over 'it wasn't my fault!' She swallowed a mouthful of air and tried to calm her enraged breathing. She hadn't even realized she was sweating or shaking for the matter.

"Paul, I think you should take the kids to Madam Gray." Dumbledore said silently.

"Yeah" Paul nodded still a little shocked and led Luna, who was walking limply besides him, and Demeter, who kept sniffing and shooting concerned looks at Luna, towards the castle.

"Well, show's over folks! Let's get yours kiddies to class!" Beery grunted and grabbed a hold of Edwards's hand. Slughorn and Dumbledore urged their students towards the Astronomy tower as well.

Edward was walking swiftly behind his head of house and wondering why the bastard hadn't said anything to him yet, but then again, he hadn't shot a time stopping spell, thank Merlin for that, or he'd be in big trouble, but he had felt it, that annoying little tingle of magic that he felt on the Ravenclaw a couple of weeks ago. He was sure, the kid hadn't jumped on his own, no, someone had forced him, and he would find out who!

-OOOOOO-

"This girl's in shock!" Madam Gray stated. "What did you do now?" She turned towards Paul, folded her hands over her chest and narrowed her eyes.

Paul gulped and tried to explain "I-" but Demeter intervened.

"It's my fault," the boy said still sniffing. "I don't know how it happened but…it's my fault."

The nurse gave a frustrated sigh and went to her storehouse to get a potion. "Seriously you kids are gonna be the death of me, and first years nonetheless!"

-OOOOOO-

Draco was in a fowl mood during Astronomy. First he had found out that Luna had a boyfriend (and on his list of _things I'd rather not have to deal with in my life!_ that one ranked pretty high), then he had been _forced_ to come to Astronomy by that lame excuse of a head of house while the Arithmancy teacher had carried Luna off to the hospital wing, _alone_! (The stupid Hannah girl hadn't even asked to go with her, though it was clear that the girl needed support). He began twirling his wand in his hand impatiently and tapping the floor with his foot.

The Astronomy teacher sent him a worried glance. She had _felt_ the anger pouring out of him and intoxicating everything it touched the moment the boy had entered the classroom. She had excused him from class, but it seemed that the boy hadn't heard her. He had taken his original seat unaware that his usual partner (Rowling), hadn't sat down next to him, and had started sulking and completely ignoring what was happening around him.

The moment Harry saw Draco's face in the courtyard he had decide he's rather die then sit besides the boy in class, so, he had reluctantly accepted that it would be more beneficial for him to sit besides Riddle in this class (because that was the only free spot!). He of course deemed himself a coward for it, but, there were things not even a Gryffindor was foolish enough to do.

"Your friend doesn't look to well," Riddle remarked. "Douse he like the Bouquet girl?"

Harry tensed and wondered how Riddle knew that. "Why would you think so?"

"Oh please, it's rather obvious," Riddle scoffed. "I'll admit, he's not as plain as that Gryffindor prankster who keeps glaring at the other Bouquet twin, or like you when you're ogling Virginia Parkinson" he stated smugly at seeing Harry's surprised expression, "but, I caught him staring a few times when he thought no one was looking."

"Is that your new hobby now? Spying on people?" Harry asked vexed.

"No, I'm just a little more _astute_ then most people," Riddle gave him a superior smirk.

"You don't say," Harry scowled at him.

"So, you like Parkinson?" Riddle asked seemingly uncaring. "I never thought the loud ones were your type"

"She's not loud!" Harry defended.

"If you like her so much, why don't you tell your friend Jean to hook you up with her, I hear she's always willing to help."

"Why the sudden interested in my love life? Just yesterday you wanted to hex me, and now you want to hook me up with Parkinson, I find that hard to believe." Harry asked acidly.

"Oh, well, that would be one more thing I could tease you about, wouldn't it? Seeing as you don't have the _guts_ to ask her out yourself," Riddle asked with an innocent smile on his handsome face.

"Why you little…" Harry fisted his hands in an attempt to calm himself. He just wanted to throttle the little bastard or punch him in the face!

"So, who's writing and who's looking through the telescope?" Tom asked and pulled out a piece of parchment. "We have to locate Mars, Venus and Saturn by the end of the class you know!"

"Am," Harry eyed the telescope and said "I'll write!" He definitely wasn't going anywhere near _that thing_. All the stars looked the same to him so he figured he'd let Riddle play with _the thing_, after all, if he fail, it would be one more thing to tease him about!

-OOOOOO-

Harry was lost in thought the next morning at breakfast. He hated to admit it but Riddle was right! He had to get a grip of himself and ask Virginia out or Riddle would teas him for the rest of his short lived life!

Draco (who was sitting right besides Harry), was still in a fowl mood. He was glaring hatefully at Demeter who was seated at the Ravenclaw table next to _his_ Luna and talking to her like there was no tomorrow and the worst part was that the girl was laughing! He decided right then and there that Demeter Greengrass would be _dead_ by the end of the day!

Luna was pissed (people could feel that from afar), the air around her had sunk below freezing level (though the one around Demeter seemed unfazed), the food on her plate had turned into a weird mixture of poison and broccoli crossed with honey and spice that had been left out for two weeks (probably do to the magically saturated air around her), and the bench and part of the table which she was occupating were rotting away fast. And if that wasn't proof enough then the maniacal laughter that tore from her throat at the very moment which could easily be mistake with a demons cry of carnage and blood definitely was.

Hermione regarded her friend worriedly, something very evil was born that morning Luna woke out of bed she just knew it!

'**How **_**dare he**_**!**' Luna thought, or maybe not, because even to her the sound of the voice in her head was kind of scary, but she didn't really care right now. '**Making me worry like that! Making me feel **_**responsible**_**! Making me feel **_**week**_** and **_**helpless**_**! Oh, I'll make you **_**regret**_** the day you **_**fell in love**_** with me! I'll make you **_**curs**_** the very meaning of that **_**blasted word**_**! I'll make you pay, Demeter Greengrass if my name isn't Luna Lovegood!**' An evil laugh burst from her throat as her beautiful face contorted into a cruel an demon like smirk, her eyes flashed a vivid blood soaked red for only a second and the air around her became so saturated with magic that electrical sparks were formed in the air.

Hermione and everyone who didn't have a death wish toss the food down their throats and ran out of the great hall so fast one would have thought the devil himself was after them. Demeter, the poor, poor bastard was the only one stupid enough to confuse that demon howl for laughter and continued ranting on and on about whatever came to mind completely oblivious to the fact that his life was in danger, and that the person he was talking to looked at him like a rare piece of meat she'd like nothing better then to burry her fangs into.


	12. Chapter 11: The Upcoming Celebration

**Chapter 11: The Upcoming Celebration**

September 19th the date most of the kids were dreading at the moment, because it was Hermione's birthday and seeing as the first and second years weren't allowed to go to Hogsmead that meant that the kids had to sneak out in order to get the girl a present, or order it by owl post, but they weren't sure if they had enough time for that.

Then there was the second biggest issue of the day. At last Friday's meeting they had unfortunately discovered that the only decent thing they could think of getting the girl were books. Witch was kind of humiliating to have the whole circle of friends give you the same present for your birthday, like they were purposely telling her they considered her a know-it-all (well they did, but they didn't want to be so honest about it).

"Then we get her something else!" Sirius had suggested, but after thinking for half an hour he stated: "you get her something else and I'll buy her a book!" To which no one had agreed and so Luna (the demon one), had banned books from the list of possible presents. Everybody reluctantly agreed.

The Marauders had discussed among themselves and had decided to scoop Hogsmead's shops together that Saturday.

Luna, Harry and Draco were going to sneak out on Sunday while Hannah and Edward had politely declined saying they'd rather risk themselves with owl post.

But you see, the sneak out wasn't really the problem…

"Come one Tonks! Think! You're a girl! What would _you_ want for your birthday?" Sirius asked a tad impatient. They had been pestering Tonks all morning, and they were getting dangerously close to midday (witch was the perfect time to sneak out seeing as all the 3rd and above students would be leaving for Hogsmead).

Tonks sighed frustrated. "I thought we'd agreed to go and check the shops for that!"

"Well, we can't just walk in there without a purpose in mind! We've got only 3 hours! Do you seriously think we'll have time to visit _every_ _shop in Hogsmead_!?" Sirius asked irked. "We have to at least know where we're heading!"

"How bout we make something for her?" George asked. "You know a personal creation!"

"George, this is Hermione we're talking about, not Harry."

"So?" George turned to look at Sirius. "Last time I noted she liked those fluffy pink pets we had at our shop, I could make one of those."

"Yeah, that's great, but what about me!" Sirius whined.

"I don't know man, but you'd better think fast," George warned, "cause it's time to GO!" Tonks and George rushed towards the Whomping Willow when they saw the first row of students coming out.

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!" Sirius complained and ran after them.

They arrived at the Shrieking Shack and made their way towards Hogsmead.

"Finally here!" George brushed his palm together and smiled. "Which way are you two heading?"

"What, you're not coming with us?" Tonks asked perplexed.

"Not if you're going east. I'm heading west to old man Xenophile's place."

"But there aren't any shops there!" Tonks protested.

"No, I'm not gonna visit any shops, just a guy who usually sells unusual stuff. He's very picky about his customers, but I made deals with his grandson in our time, so I won him over easily," George winked. "So I'll see you guys here in bout 3 hours."

"Ok, bye." Sirius waved and grabbed a hold of Tonks hand. "Let's go, before all the good ones are taken! It's the first Hogsmead's weekend after all." He started dragging her towards Madam Rosmerta's.

"So I recon you decided on something to buy?" Tonks teased.

"Yeah, sort of…" Sirius blushed and turned to look at her. "I've just realized that Hermione and I are the same age."

"Mm… yeah, so?"

"Well, I'm going to buy her something I'd buy a girl my age!" Sirius said determined.

"What? Sirius you're not gonna buy her panties are you?!" Tonks exclaimed.

"I wanted to," Sirius admitted embarrassed, "you know as a joke, but I figured I'd never get out alive if I did that." He sighed and said "so, I decided to buy her flowers and chocolate!"

Tonks looked at him strangely. "That's it?!" She asked uncertain "food and a bunch of flowers? Sirius, that's lame and old style!"

"Yeah, well we're in 1938 in case you haven't noticed! It's called adapting to the time!"

"Ok, I'm wasting my precious time with you; let's just go to the shops!" She headed towards the first shop (witch happened to be the candy shop).

"Or I could buy her clothes or a necklace!" Sirius tried again, "and that's where I need your help! I want you to help me pick something for her."

"Jewelry!!!" Tonks exclaimed, her eyes beginning to sparkle. "She'd definitely want jewelry!"

"Oh, I see I finally got you in the mood. So I recon you're gonna help me right?"

"Of course, you can count on me!" Tonks beamed and dragged Sirius to the nearest jewelry store.

"I know. I just hope my vault will be able to handle this." Sirius said beginning to regret the fact that he had asked Tonks for help when he saw the necklace she had laid her eyes on. "500 Galleons?! Are you MAD?!" He shrieked.

------

"That's him!" Draco said from behind a suit of armor.

"Demeter Greengrass?! You're joking right?" Abraxas Malfoy sighed at seeing the plump and clumsy boy.

"Draco, when you said you had problems, I thought you meant some stupid Gryffindor who was trying to intimidate you or, something much more, I don't know, smart maybe?" Hyperion Malfoy said a bit disappointed. "This guy is a wuss! Even for Hufflepuff he's a disgrace!"

"A disgrace who keeps avoiding all my traps!" Draco glared.

"Ah, you can't even manage a first year," Hyperion sighed sadly. "My Slytherin house just keeps degrading with every passing generation."

"Degrading?!" Draco snarled startling the other two. "In the past week I've tried to burn, chop, poison, hang him by the roof, push him off the stairs, heck, I've even tried to stab him from behind! You can ask Slughorn how well that ended up!"

The boy's luck frustrated Draco to no end, considering all the effort he'd put into offing the kid, he thought he'd at least be able to inflict a bruise or something, but _nooo_! Every time he made his attack it was like the mother of all lucks came poring down on Demeter to keep him out of harms way! I mean seriously, what were the chances of Dumbledore exiting that precise classroom, at that precise time he had fired a hex? Well, he did suspect the old man might have something to do with it but… Something told Draco that if he had been half as serious in him 6th year, Dumbled would have been dead by the end of the first day, but this kid!!

"Wait a second," Hyperion said perplexed. "Do you mean to tell me that you stabbed Slughorn in the but last Thursday?"

"Yeah, but it was meant for that fat little piece of…" Draco stopped himself before he finishing that, it wouldn't do for a Malf- _Slytherin_ to swear like a Gryffindor. "I didn't even see Slughorn there! Lucky he didn't catch me."

"So, were you the one who pushed the Charms teacher off the stairs?" Abraxas asked.

"Yeah, but I don't regret that." Draco smirked.

"You set Dumbles hat on fire?"

"I somehow think he deserved that."

"You nearly choked the Aritmancy teacher"

"It was his bloody fault he forgot he had a bloody wand!"

"You poisoned the divination's teacher!"

"She's not dead, now is she?"

"Man you're really trying to do this guy in! What did he do? Steal your ego or something?" Abraxas teased.

"Ha-ha, aren't you funny!" Draco turned to scowl at him then ran off when he saw Demeter moving.

"Gee man, you're worse then a stalker!" Abraxas shouted after him.

"If you can't help me, go away!" Draco shouted back.

Hyperion caught up with him and grabbed him by the shoulder. "Wow there, take it easy little man! That's not the way to do it!"

Draco turned to sneer at him, "You think you can get him?"

"Of course!" Hyperion assured him, "just give me…3 days, and I'll have him in more trouble then he'd ever like."

Draco purged his lips and said emotionally, "no, I want him dead!"

Hyperion chuckled at this and ruffled his hair. "Yes, and he will be dead."

"Not in the figurative way!" Draco said in a harsh tone.

Hyperion's eyes widened and he stared unblinkingly into Draco's cold gray eyes. When he finally determined the other wasn't lying he smirked down on Draco and nodded his head. "In that case, you'll have to give me up till New Year." He whispered silently and bent down so that he was on eye level with the first year. "And it'll cost ya."

"I never deemed you a philanthropist," Draco smirked up at Hyperion and said "You have until the start of second term!"

"**Until the start of second term to do what**?" A sweet, demonic-like voice whispered into Draco's ear that had the boy and Hyperion jump out of their skin.

"Luna?! What are you doing here?" Draco asked in a trembling voice.

"**Oh, I saw you stalking my boyfriend and I was wondering what you were up to.**"

"I believe that's none of your business!" Hyperion said coolly.

Luna gave Hyperion a one over and then grabbed him by the collar and brought him down to eye level. She whispered in the same sweet voice only this time it had a bit of a threatening tone to it. "**You sure dismiss people up quickly. It seems like you're doomed to making the same mistake all over again, but heed my warning: Mess with my boyfriend and I'll rip your scull open and drain out all your blood!**"

Hyperion jumped in surprise when a slight electric bolt passed through his throat. Luna gave him one last nasty smirk and left.

Draco watched her go up until she turned a corner then he looked at Hyperion and said "you're still gonna off that excuse of a puff right?"

Hyperion seemingly didn't hear him as he was still staring at the place where Luna had been just a moment ago. "That was…magnificent!"

"What? You getting your ass kicked by a first year again?" Draco asked perplexed.

"No, I mean yes… NO! Didn't you feel it?!" Hyperion locked his intense gray eyes with Draco's confused ones and said "didn't you feel it?! The magnificent and enticing dark aura? It was pouring down all around her; the air was practically saturated with it! Look!" He pointed at the spot Luna had stood only minutes ago. "It's rotting! Almost as if it has been touched by a Dementor." He stared mesmerized at it.

"Yeah, so? What's so interesting about that?"

"And here I thought you were from Russia!" Hyperion snorted. "That over there," he pointed at the decaying piece of marble floor "is art! Dark magic in its most pure form! Seriously have you even bothered to ask your parents why Grindelwald started a revolution, or why the Dark Arts are banned by most of today's governments? I'm guessing no, by the look on your face." Hyperion sighed and was about to continue but Draco cut him off.

"I know why they banned the Dark Arts! It's because they represented the nastiest and most primitive of human emotions: anger, rage, gluttony, lust, pride, fear and hunger for power… and not to mention that they can be very addicting, if used in excess."

"Yesss," Hyperion hissed delighted. "And the excitement that rushes through your veins, the feeling, it's like nothing these pathetic excuse of light spells we're learning can offer. Have you ever shot a dark cures before? The Bone Breaking curse? Anything?"

Draco smirked up into the others content looking face and smugly answered, "The Bone Breaking curse? Try the Imperius Curse, or even better the Cruciatus Curse."

Hyperion Malfoy gave him a surprised look. "You? A first year? You cast the Cruciatus Curse?"

"You forget I was born in Russia." Draco lied smoothly. "I haven't started on the Killing Curse yet, my father thinks I won't handle it. I beg to differ. Now if the best that you have to offer me is the Bone Breaking Curse, I'm better off dealing with Demeter myself." He turned to walk away but Hyperion came up behind him and whispered something in his ear that made his heart skip several beets.

"_I've already killed before!_"

-------

George was extremely pleased with himself.

He had stopped by old man Xenophile's Shop and luckily they had just received new merchandise, so he had found everything he needed, and with the help of his ingenious and extraordinary marketing skills he had bought it all at half the price, after all, old man Xenophile still owed him for the fireworks he made for his daughter's birthday.

The whole errand had taken him about two hours, so he had one to spare and he really wanted to check some of the other shops he had recently discovered. They were some of those places that people like his mom or dad wouldn't dream about approaching even if their life depended on it, but being a shop keeper had led him to such places and he found out they weren't half bad.

A few streets later and he was there, in the Knockturn Alley version of Hogsmead.

This part of the town was a lot more quiet then the North-East side kids usually visited on Hogsmead weekends. The streets were narrow and dark, with dingy houses and worn-out windows filled with spider webs. There were only a handful of people walking around. Most of them had an eery feeling about them, what with their long shaggy black cloaks with hoods that covered up their faces. No one looked twice at you, if they even looked at all.

George got the distinct impression that Knockturn Alley was safer then this old godforsaken place. Though it suited him just fine for now, because here they didn't actually give a dang about whether you were a first year or a grandpa, as long as you had money, you were always welcomed.

He stopped in front of a dilapidated mini-house that looked like it would collapse at any given time and knocked once. A grunt was heard from somewhere inside and the next moment a chubby man dressed in a long, shabby, orange colored wizard robe stepped out of the house. He was an old fellow, in his mid 60s and barely had an ounce of gray hair left on his head, with a thick mustache that covered up all of his mouth and black narrowed eyes that were hidden behind bushy brows. He took one look at George and then rushed him inside.

The inside was a lot more different then the outside though the aphotic color in witch the room was dyed gave it a sober feel. There were a few wooden chairs here and there, a large maroon table, a fire place with a red rug on witch a very pompous poodle laid and a bar full with bottles of liquor and other beverages. The only thing witch decorated the walls was a muggle painting of a landslide. There were three doors in the room and George could hardly make out a forth door on the ground witch probably led to the basement.

"Well bless me dog and call me Merlin, if it ain't the town's prankster Gregory Mockswell! What brings ya here sonny?"

"Oh, so I'm the town prankster? When did that happen?"

"Oh, ya know. It's a small town, and everyone knows everything about everyone, and especially bout Hogwarts. The town's kid's that went ta Hogwarts have been 'riting ta their parents bout ya and yer mates. And that old hag Xenophile likes ta brag a lot. Keeps talking about a customer he had that made him those sparkling thingies he used on his kid's birthday, what were they called…?"

"Fireworks," George answered. "Listen Earl, I was wondering if you've got some more merchandise for me?"

"Thought yas came bout those," said Earl grinning. "Com' on, they're down in the basement."

It took George about half an hour to go through the merchandise Earl had recently received.

"Thanks a lot Earl. I'll come and visit you some other time." George waved and was about to exit the cottage when Earl grabbed him by the wrist.

"Now 'old on just a sec there sonny, yas better ware one o' these," he handed George a long and dusty black cloak. "Dangerous place ou' there. Why just yesterday the daughter of old man Grizletoff was taken by some strange fellow in a carriage with black 'orses. And fine 'orses they were, the people keep saying one o' them nobles did it, but no on' 'nows for sure."

George accepted the offered cloak and swung it over his shoulders. "Thanks Earl, I owe ya." He waved his goodbyes and exited the house.

"Dang, I'll be late for the meeting!" George cursed when he looked at his watch and quickened his pace.

"Excuse me," a cold and bossy like voice called out to him from behind. "Aren't you Gregory Mockswell, the town's new miracle worker?"

George stopped in his tracks and turned around a perplexed expression on his face. "Miracle worker? Boy that has to top all the title I received so far."

He was facing a tall, well built man who looked to be in his early 30s. He had shoulder length black hair wrapped up in a ponytail and cold brown eyes. He was dressed in a rather clean and boastful wizard robe that looked to be rather expensive even for the time in witch George came from. On his left arm he held a cane witch had a silver hawk for a head.

"That is what most of the people from this side of town call you, because of those ingenious creations of yours witch lid up the sky a few days ago."

"Oh, the fireworks! They're really not that hard to make, and they're definitely no miracle." George assured him. "Now if you'd please excuse me, I have some place I'm supposed to be." He turned towards the exit but was met by an all black carriage with two magnificent dark horses. He didn't even have time to process what this meant because in the next moment a wand was pressed in his back and an incantation later he was dragged in the carriage by the strange man and was taken away.

-------

Harry was currently sitting on the couch in the Slytherin common room working on his DADA essay, and occasionally peering over his parchment at Virginia Parkinson which was sitting a few strides away talking to her best friend Rosalie Damon.

She was indeed one of the most beautiful girls he had ever laid eyes on. Pale blond hair, deep maroon eyes, creamy white skin, scarlet flushed cheeks and full strawberry colored lips, she was breathtaking! She was one of those girls who made boys heads turn whenever she passed, and the Slytherins were quite proud to have her in their house, though some wished Helen Bouquet (who was consider better looking then her for some strange reason Harry didn't quite understand), would have ended up in Slytherin too.

"Is that how you work on your essay?" Harry heard the familiar teasing voice of Jane Seymour and lifted his head to great her.

"No, I was just… distracted."

Jane took a quick glance towards Virginia and said, "I see! So you like Ginny?"

Harry froze when he heard that nickname.

"She's quite something," Jane carried on seemingly oblivious to Harry's internal conflict. "You know her birthday is coming up." She said casually and Harry snapped out of his dais and turned to look at her.

"When?" He asked eagerly.

"The 19th of September! We're having a party for her. Didn't Abraxas tell you?"

"No, he didn't."

"Oh, well, I suppose he might've forgotten. You see, the money we've been collecting this past week is to buy her presents. The girls and I will be going to Hogsmead tomorrow to get everything we need for the party and the presents. But," she snuggled close to Harry to whisper in his ear. "If you want to impress her, I'd suggest you buy her something yourself. You should take advantage that none of the other boys know when her birthday is yet." She winked at him.

"They don't?" Harry asked confused.

"No," Jane assured him. "You see, I told Abraxas to only tell you about it, since I knew you liked her. But I suppose that annoying future brother-in-law of mine forgot bout it!" She gave a frustrated sigh.

"You…" Harry stared at her for a whiled quite shocked that she'd help him of all people; after all, he had known he was in the girl's good grace since the first day he arrived but… "Thanks, for the tip." He flashed a smile and Jane grinned at him.

"Don't mention it, and don't tell Lestrange, he like's her too! Oh, and she likes white Irises and green or dark-brown colored clothes." She said and with a last wink went to join her 5th year friends Stuwey Griffin and Gene Hackman.

Harry smile after her. Sure she was annoying as hell, and could tease you over the smallest of things, but she did '_take care of her own'_ as she had once told him, and yes Harry liked her. If he were ever to have and older sister, he'd definitely want her to be just like Jane. But his good mood wasn't long lived when he realized that Virginia's birthday was on the exact same day as Hermione's.

"Bullocks!"

------

After a long and bankrupt shopping session with Tonks, Sirius was eager to get out of Hogsmead and never see its accursed sight up until third year. And he would have gladly ran back to Hogwarts even if it meant knocking face first into the hag that was his Charms teacher but unfortunately for him, George hadn't arrived yet.

"Where the hell is that kid?!" He growled. They had been waiting for nearly two hours (two extra hours passed the time they agreed to meat mind you!), and still no sign of him.

"Shouldn't we go looking for him? It's already 5 o'clock, Sirius!" Tonks whined and looked desperately in the direction they had last seen George.

"I suppose so. But we don't even know where he went!"

"Well waiting here is most certainly not gonna do us any good. What if he's in trouble and needs our help!"

"Alright," Sirius conceded, "but how are we gonna find him?"

Tonks glared. "Aren't dogs supposed to be good at this kind of thing?"

"WHAT!!" Sirius turned to scowl at her.

Tonks sighed. "Look, do you wanna get out of this place or not?!"

"FINE!" He grunted and turned into Padfoot.

-------

George woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling.

It was cut into square pieces that were separated by a fine line of neatly polished wood with leaf carvings; the plates were filed with three different designees, four flowers at each corner, a white spot in between, and an amazing painting in the middle, not to mention it was charmed so that the flowers actually moved. It was indeed a sight to behold and George was stuck admiring it for quite some time.

"Magnificent isn't it!" The sound of a familiar voice drew his attention.

"You!" George sat up straight in the bead. "Where am I?"

"Oh, pardon my rudeness," Said the man bowing. "I completely forgot to introduce myself, Sergey Yaxley and this, is my manor. We're currently 2 miles outside London."

"Ahem, and what am I doing here?" George asked confused.

"Oh, well, you see, one of my clients, who's heard about your impressive work, offered me a great some of money if I were to sell you to him, you see that's my unofficial job."

"You, you're the one who kidnapped old man Grizletoff's daughter!"

"Who?" Sergey looked confused for a moment but then seemed to remember something, "oh, yes, her, yes, I sold her to the Malfoy family. And knowing them, they're bound to chop her up in pieces and sell her organs to the black market. You know, they have yet to invent spells that could heal the vital organs."

George had looped from his bead and made a whiled dash towards Yaxley, but the man wiped out his wand and petrified him.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty, she was only a mudblood, no need to get all excited over that _thing_."

George wished he could move; he wished he'd have his wand in his hand and aimed the nastiest and damaging curse he could think of at the heartless bastard before him.

"And don't worry; I'm not going to sell you to my customers that would be such a waste." The man assured him. "They'd most probably inflict permanent damage to that brilliant mind of yours. Now I shell be taking my leave, but when I return, I wish to find you in a more cooperative mood." The man bowed and made to exit the room. At the door he cast a quick Finite Incantatem on George then locked the room before George reached the door.

George started banging madly on the door and shouting for about two straight hours, though something told him there was a silencing charm put on the room, he couldn't actually think clearly, he just wanted to punch that bastard in the face.

-------

"This is where it ends!" Sirius said for the thousand time.

"You're saying that in your human form!" Tonks complained.

"I can't speak in dog form!" Sirius shouted.

They had been at it for hours. Sirius had followed George's smell up until a very creepy part of Hogsmead. They had spoken to one Earl Marbles and had found out George had left a good 4 hours ago, which drove Tonks mad. "Then why didn't he show up!" Sirius had managed to pick a faint smell from him that led up until a few strides outside Hogsmead.

And now it was 10 o'clock, way past curfew, they were stuck in a potentially dangerous forest looking for a friend who was long gone, if Sirius's nose was anything to go by.

"I'm telling you Tonks I can't smell him anywhere!" Tonks began scooping the forest desperate for any sign that George might be somewhere nearby.

"Then where is he?"


	13. Chapter 12: A friend in need

WARNING!! I DIN'T RATE THIS FIC "M" FOR NO REASON!! This chapter gets a little gruesome at the middle, so you are advised to skip Edward's dream if you don't want to be disgusted.

**Chapter 12: A friend in need is a friend indeed**

September 17 Sunday

Tom woke up at 5 in the morning, like he usually did, took a quick shower and went down to the Kitchen for breakfast. Even though it was Sunday and most people would probably be enjoying a day of fun and relaxation he unfortunately couldn't endorse in such activities, mostly due to the fact that the Charms teacher had overloaded his schedule.

One week ago the bloody pest had practically forced him, Watson and Cullen into writing an essay about a random subject she had come up with on the spot and present them in front of the whole school at the end of the semester. There were advantages mind you, like for one, they didn't have to take the end of term exam if she was satisfied with their work, and you could always get away with the excuse of "_I was working on my essay_" when she asked you about homework, and Tom being Tom, naturally had to have the best results, witch meant he had to study…hard, because Cullen and Watson weren't one of those people you could easily outdo with a lame and quick scrabbled paper which meant he had less time to dedicate to his other pastimes, like pestering Rowling for example.

He grabbed a quick meal and then was about to head up towards the Library when he bumped into the last person he thought he'd meat.

"Pandora?!"

Tonks lei motionless on the marble floor. Her clothes were shaggy and drenched in fresh dirt, her hair messy and whiled, she had dark circles around her closed lids and she was breathing heavily.

"Pandora?" Tom kneeled down besides her and pulled her head in his lap. "Pandora! Tonks!"

Tonks stirred slightly but gave no signs of waking, not even when Tom tickled her nose with the feather of his quill did she do more then giggles a few times and turned back to snoring loudly. He sighed frustrated and proceeded to watch her sleep.

Truth be told, he never expected to run into Pandora or her other two Marauder (or so they had introduced themselves as), friends. He had always thought that they'd hate him for being sorted into Slytherin so he had kept his distance from them, though he reluctantly agreed that somewhere deep down he hoped they would talk to him again. That's why he had asked that accursed old hat to sort him in Gryffindor (though the house came close to being a nuts hold in his opinion), he considered Sirius and George well worth the effort of putting up with the others, more so then his Slytherin _friends_…

Just then Tonks gave a soft groan and slowly opened her eyes. She was a bit reluctant to do so, because she was sitting on something warm and soft and she had spent all night searching for George…

"Hey, you're finally awake."

"Hi Tom," she grinned through her half closed eyelashes, a slight amount of sleep still clouding her judgment, then she closed her eyes and turned on her side. Tom chuckled slightly.

"Didn't get enough sleep last night?" he teased and Tonks mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like _nyah_.

"Why? Were you guys planning another one of your pranks?"

" Wii we're out searshing for Jorje," was Tonks lazy reply.

"Jorj…?" Asked Tom uncertain. "Oh, you mean George?"

Tonks yawned and managed a muffled " 'es" as a reply.

"Why were you searching for George?"

" 'Cause he was kidnapped." She managed to say without crippling any of the words and then she stiffened, her eyes fully opened and her mouth gone dry. She slowly turned around to look at Tom's god smacked face.

"What did you say?" Tom asked unwilling to believe what he had heard.

"George was kidnapped." Tonks whispered in a silent voice.

-------

George woke up sneezing and guessed he had caught a cold. Then he looked confused around the room, wondering how he got here.

It was probably the most imposing chamber George had ever seen, and God forbid, too clean for anyone's like. The walls were painted in a rich Maizeen color. On his right there were two magnificent windows with wooden ledges the same color as the ceiling with matching carvings and a wooden desk with a comfortable looking armchair. On his right, glued to the bed, was a creamy colored nightstand on witch a small lamp stood. In the far corner of the room was an extravagant looking sofa with a jet-black glass-made table right in front. And the bed was…heaven! The sheets and pillows were impeccable white and fluffy, George felt like he could sleep all day. Oh wait… now he remembered where he was…he was in Yaxley's manor…dang! And he had to prepare for his third encounter with the bastard! Oh yes, Yaxley had visited him again last night, just like he promised, only, things didn't go exactly as he had planed.

After screaming himself horse for nearly two hours George's brain had started working properly and he decided he wasn't gonna let the soon to be Death Eater keep _him_ locked up in a room. _Nooo_ he was definitely going to get even with the slimy git and teach him a valuably lesson about kidnapping people, especially if you were stupid enough to only take the wand of said kid and leave him unbounded in a room full of potentially dangerous items instead of a cell down in the basement.

So, the second time Yaxley had come to visit George, he had had the pleasant surprise of having the jet-black glass-made table banged on his head and George had made his first attempt at freedom, which turned out pretty bad because of the vile things that were Yaxley's _customers_. Luckily George had managed to barricade himself in the room before the man had a chance to snatch his belongings, and most importantly, his notebook which, to his relieve, still remained safe in the inner pocket of his jacket.

So, at 1 in the morning he had written to Tonks and Sirius and explained to them, to the best of his abilities, where he was. They had both promised to come and save him first thing in the morning.

Now he was carefully planning out his second attempt at freedom, only this time, he was gonna be prepared for those insufferable _clients_ of Yaxley's.

------

"Luna! Wait up!"

"**Since when are we on first name terms Malfoy?" **Luna rose and inquisitory brow.

"Since calling you Bouquet seems… inappropriate and not to mention confusing. You might think I'm talking to your sister," Hyperion Malfoy answered when he reached her.

"**Hmm…I don't see my sister anywhere nearby,**" Luna replied bored. "**So did you want something?**"

"Yes as a matter of fact I did," Hyperion put on his most charming smile and said: "I wanted to invite you to Parkinson's birthday party in the Slytherin common room."

"**Mm hmm. And why are **_**you**_** asking me instead of her?**" She asked faking curiosity.

"Well, it's a surprise party. Your sister is coming too, Jane already invited her."

"**Your **_**girlfriend**_** invited **_**my sister**_**?**" Luna asked perplexed.

"Yes. Didn't you know? They're friends!"

"**No, because of our boyfriends we don't spend that much time together,**" she answered flatly. "**Not that we have up until now. If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be.**"

"How did you do it?" Hyperion asked suddenly. "The dark aura, how did you attain it?"

Luna chuckled slightly and turned to leave. "**Wouldn't you like to know?**"

"I would!" Hyperion assured. "That's why I'm inviting you to the Malfoy's New Year party."

Luna stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him, an amused expression on her face.

"**You're inviting me to a **_**New Year**_** party, ****in mid-September****?**"

"I wanted to make sure you'd come."

"**In mid-September?**"

"Better safe then sorry."

"**Aha**" Luna nodded still amused. "**Why don't you get back to me on that?**"

"Of course" Hyperion bowed. "I'll remind you on the 17th of every month."

Luna rolled her eyes at him and left still very much amuse. Was she imagining it or was Hyperion hitting on her? Nope she was definitely imagining it. Dang, she forgot to ask the annoying blond where Harry and Draco were.

------

Harry and Draco were still snoring in the Slytherin first year dorms when Tom rushed in. He took one look at the two and sighed. It was 9 in the morning and the two were still sleeping! He quickly changed into his casual clothes, which consisted of a pair of worn-out jeans and black t-shirt, and headed out to find his target. It didn't take long.

Gilbert Goyle one of the dumbest forth year students one could ever meat (and his parent's thought him a genius because he was studying Arithmancy). Tom had absolutely no idea how the fat kid could have survived third year all by himself; and the equally thick boy who was always accompanying him Veneficus Crabbe. They were one of those kids that people like Malfoy and Yaxley liked to hang around in case they landed themselves in any trouble, because fat and stupid almost always equaled with mean and strong. Tom slowly made his way towards them and sat down beside Goyle who was to preoccupied with his food to notice him.

"Aham," Tom clear his voice and only then did the other two notice he was there. They turned to luck dumbly at him.

"Hi!" Tom began a bit uncertain, it was his first time having a real conversation (Rowling didn't count!), and he was a bit nervous about it, but he believed that he could deal with these bunch, though after hearing what came out of their mouths, he wasn't so sure anymore.

"Crabbe, who is this guy?" Crabbe took one look at Tom and shrugged.

"Am, my name is Tom Riddle."

"Never heard of you," Goyle said and resumed eating.

"You never heard of half the school," Crabbe chastised. "It's that kid who didn't like the fact that he was sorted into Slytherin!"

"Oh, now I remember," Goyle swallowed a handful of sausages in one gulp and turned to lock at him. "So, what do you want with us?"

"I was wondering if you guys know where Yaxley lived." Tom decided to go straight to the point rather then beet around the bush.

"Yeah, of course we do, last years Christmas Party was at Yaxley's house! Why?" Goyle asked.

"Yaxley's father and mine are busyness partners and I was asked by my father to speak with him about their recent job, because my father is on a business trip, so are you gonna tell me where he lives?" Tom asked flatly.

"I see," Goyle nodded. "But why don't you ask Yaxley himself about it?"

Tom put on a troubled look and said: "Ah, you see, I can't really do that because, his son is not supposed to know about it. And it would be troublesome if he did find out."

"Really is it that important?" Crabbe asked curiously.

"Yes, and I'd appreciate if you wouldn't tell anyone about this conversation either, now are you going to help me or not?" Tom asked slightly impatient.

"We would but-" Goyle began but Tom (who had more then enough of them), cut him off.

"I'll do your Arithmancy homework for a month!"

Goyle stopped to think about it then asked: "Are you the one who did Rockwood's homework?"

"Yes, so do we have a dell?"

"Of course!" Crabbe joined in grinning from eat to ear.

-----

Edward was dreaming a peaceful dream.

He was walking alone through the thick trees, the full moon shining brightly in the sky enveloping everything in an unearthly shade of blue and white. His steps were lazy, his bare feet almost touching the wet grass; a stream could be heard in the nearby distance. The rest was silence…there were no birds, no animals, no cracks or noises that dared to disturbed the eerie quiet forest, like the people in the church captivated by the uplift priest they were all listening, captivated by a sound so hushed and still that it would have been impossible for the human ear to perceive; yet Edward did hear it… and the sound was anything but quiet to him.

It was magnificent nonetheless and he loved it! It wasn't peaceful, but vicious and choked and he loved it. It was brisk and loud and it drove him mad. It was fearful and anxious and it filled his mouth with the deadliest of venoms. The sound of a heart beet, he missed it…

He missed the time when his own dead heart was thumping loudly in his chest, the flood of blood rushing madly through his vain, his berating erratic and his thought dry…

He missed it, but he didn't want it back. No, this was much better…the wonderful feeling of being in control, immortal, unstoppable, unbreakable, undefeated… a predator, lurking in the shadows, silently circling it's pray, playing with it, teasing it, driving it crazy…he loved the feeling and it drove him mad with desire, with want for the thick and smooth liquid that flooded the human body…blood.

"Gotcha!"

A piercing scream disturbed the silent forest and suddenly the world was alive again. Birds were flying out of their nest, the trees were cracking and twitching mixing with the sound of human flesh being torn and bones being broken, because it wasn't enough, just draining all the blood wasn't enough, he needed more, he was hungry for more, for carnage, for murder, for power…

A hallow laugh echoed through the now silent forest. The moon was no longer pure and white but it had taken a rather morbid carmine shape which bathed the now overwhelmed forest in a sickly shade of crimson. The moist grass and the tall trees were now drenched with the cold and damp flow of blood. Bones and tiny bits of flesh were scathed everywhere and at Edward's feet, a child of barely 10 lay motionless, dead, with its chest ripped to shreds, a horror-struck expression forever carved on his young face.

"And you know this is what you really are!" he heard himself say. "Nothing but a monster trapped inside a worthless shell, a worthless excuse of a human. You know this is what you want to be, EDWARD!"

He woke up screaming, his eyes still flooding with tears and the image of the broken body of the child forever carved in his skull.

"Edward?! Are you alright?" He vaguely heard a concerned voice coming from somewhere nearby; two arms came to rest on his shoulders. "Shush, it's alright! I'm here for you. No one will hurt you." A soft reassuring voice whispered in his ear, and he found himself laughing, hard.

_No one will hurt you!_ That was worth laughing about. Of course no one would hurt him! The problem was _him_ hurting someone else!

"Edward? Why are you laughing?" A familiar voice asked perplexed.

"Because, no one _will_ hurt me!" he managed to say between pants, but the laughter soon turned into a full out scream as the face of a very pissed girl appeared in his line of view. He jumped back in surprise.

Hannah's beautiful blue eyes held the same dead glee in them as the kid he had seen in his dreams. A thick trail of blood covered the right side of her smooth silk-like hair. And an ugly cut ran up her entire chest revealing her vital organs… the heart.

"Edward? Is something wrong?" Hannah asked concerned.

The heart. He could her it thumping, smell the blood flooding through her vain…_NO!_

Edward leaped out of the bed and made a whiled dash for the bathroom door closing it with a bang behind him.

"Edward!" Hannah shouted briskly rising from the bed and reaching for the bathroom door. It was locked. "Ed, are you ok?"

"Yeah," a muffled voice came from the other side of the door. "I just…I just had a bad dream, I'm fine."

"Ok," Hannah replied uncertain, "I'm off to lunch. Do you want me to wait for you?"

"_No!_ You go on ahead! I'll…I'll se you there."

"If you're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure, I won't be long."

"Alright." She said and left the boy's dormitory.

Edward turned on the cold water and stepped into the shower with his night-clothes on. His breathing was still erratic and his heart racing, because he had liked it…the adrenalin, the dream, the feeling of power… and it scared him…

"What's happening to me?"

------

Sirius woke up at noon and rushed down to the Great Hall. He greeted his Gryffindor comrades, took a few bits out of everything and rushed out to meet Tonks.

They hadn't told the others about George yet, and they didn't even want to. They were going to save him today and pretend the whole thing never happened, end of story. He had just barely reached the front oak doors when an invisible forge grabbed him from behind and pulled him backwards. He landed heavily on the marble floor and cursed a few times before he had the chance to see who it was.

"**Hi there Sirius! You weren't planning on leaving without giving us the map now, were you?**" Luna asked him with a strained smile on her face. "**It's out turn to go to Hogsmead, remember?**"

"Oh. Hi Luna," Sirius said quickly. "No, sorry, I forgot. Here's the map." He pulled out the Marauders map and quickly handed it to Luna then turned and ran out the front door.

Unfortunately, he didn't find Tonks waiting for him neat the Whomping Willow as they had planned.

"Where is that girl?"

Sirius had half a mind to go by himself, but he knew that would be stupid, especially since he didn't know where he was going.

-------

Tonks had seen Sirius leave the castle, but she couldn't go after him. Firstly because Sirius was unreasonable right now, he blamed himself for George's kidnapping and so did Tonks, but she, unlike Sirius knew that London was a big place and they needed all the help they could get to find George, and Tom had promised her he would find out where this Yaxley guy lived. Yaxley…he was the Ministry's executioner and a possible Death Eater, and she had never bothered to find out where he lived, Tonks was cursing herself for it when Tom came out of the Great Hall.

"Hey, stop that! What's done is done! You should concentrate on fixing it rather then blame yourself." Tom scolded her.

"Sorry, I'm just a little nervous," Tonks smiled weekly at him. "Did you find out where Yaxley lives?"

"Of course! Let's find Sirius!"

Tonks nodded, grabbed Tom by the hand and started dragging him towards the exit. "He's already outside, and we'd better hurry."

-------

"**I can't believe you overslept!**" Luna roared the moment she caught sight of Harry and Draco.

"Sorry!" They both apologized.

"**No! No sorry's! We've wasted 3 hours of searching through Hogsmead because of you, so you better be reedy to make a run for it!**"

"Can't we at least get something to eat?" Draco asked hopefully.

"**No! We're leaving, now!**"

------

Sirius wasn't too happy about the fact that Tonks had told anyone about George, but it was helpful that they at least knew where they were going, the problem was getting there.

They got to the Shrieking Shack fairly easy, though the fact that Tom hadn't even bothered to ask them how they knew about the passageway out of Hogwarts bugged Sirius a little, there was something else that bugged him even more: How were they going to get to London?

"We could use the floo network in the Hogs Head," Tonks had advised.

"Yeah, and what are we gonna tell the owner, _we're sneaking out, please help us_?" Sirius asked sarcastically.

"How bout you leave this to me?" Tom asked.

Sirius turned to look at him. "What, you think you can get pass him?"

"I can _try_!"

"Ok, let's hear it!"

"Hear what?"

"Your plan! You don't expect me to send you in there with a lame ass plan that would get us all caught right?"

Tom glared at him but then sighed and said. "We're telling him our grandmother hit the bucket and we want to attend her burial!"

"That sounds like a plan to you?!" Sirius shrieked.

"Do you have a better idea?"

"I do!" Tonks morphed her face into that of a Goblin.

"You, You're a Metamorphmagus?" Tom asked perplexed. "How did I not notice that?"

"Anyways we ca pretend to be Goblins here on Gringotts business! No one would ask us anything!"

"The problem is we can't do that! We're not Metamorphmagus!" Sirius whined.

"Put a glamour on!" Tonks said pissed.

"Oh, yeah, you're right!" Sirius slapped his head and glamour his face so that it looked like a goblins.

"Am, I can't…I haven't learned that charm yet," Tom hung his head in shame, he should have known better then to disconsider the use of a Glamour Charm.

"I'll do it for you," Tonks said and proceeded to Glamour up Toms pouting face. "Let's change our clothes too."

"You know, we are kind of big to be goblins," Sirius said now remembering his Charms teacher, professor Flitwick.

"If someone asks, we'll tell them we're half-Goblins," Tonks suggested.

"No, we glare at them and tell them nothing," Tom said. "Goblins are known for their dislike of wizards in general, it would look suspicious if a Goblin would actually care what one thinks."

"Are you guys ready?" Sirius asked.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Tonks sighed.

It wasn't so hard to get to the floo; the people did glare mind you, but they didn't say anything and so the three managed to get to the Leaky Cauldron safe and sound.

Travis the owner didn't even bother to look at them, seeing as the place was packed with people, so the trio exited the bar as quickly as they could and removed their glamour before stepping out into the London streets.

"Ok guys, let's go save George!"

A/N: This chapter was supposed to be longer but I decided on uploading it anyways because I want to try to update this fan fic weekly, since I'm done with the summer exams (yeah, I had a lot since I was lazy), and I have a few things I'd like your opinion on:

1. What do you think of Luna and Edward's character? Are they annoying, should I change them?

2. is anything else bugging you about my fan fic? I'd really appreciate it if you'd tell me.


	14. Chapter 13: is a friend indeed!

**Chapter 13: A friend in need is a friend indeed (2)**

It was a warm autumn day. The sun was shining in the sky with very few clouds here and there, the leaves were slowly shedding their greenish color to be replaced by a vivid yellow or rusty red, and the Rescue Squad (or so Tonks had deemed Sirius, Tom and herself), were cursing their ingenious idea of wearing black clothes on such a warm sunny day.

They had ventured into a strange part of London that not even Sirius's job as an Auror had made him wander, but Tom assured them that it was the right way and so he followed without complain. The streets of this place were not much different then those in Diagon Alley made out of round looking tiny pieces of algae colored stones, and the houses were barely a few stories high. It was so different from the tall buildings and grandiose hipper-markets that filled the London streets of the 20th centuries. So much had changed in the muggle world in 50 years time, but the wizarding world remained unnervingly static, with the same old shops and robes and traditions. Sirius was slowly beginning to wonder if life as a muggle didn't have a magic of its own, a magic called evolution perhaps…

"Sirius," Tonks called from several strides away. "What are you doing falling behind? We're in a hurry!"

"Sorry!" Sirius grinned sheepishly as he ran towards them. "I got caught up in thoughts."

"I can see that," Tonks scolded.

"It won't be long now," Tom announced. "Just outside that house over there." He pointed at an old and shabby looking house that seemed to be positioned right at the end of the city. "We should be able to see the manor once we get pass that house!"

"Then what are we waiting for," Sirius said and dashed forward.

"Hey! Wait for me," Tonks hurried to catch up to him.

"Wait you two," Tom shouted after them. "We can't go in there without a plan!"

"The hell we can!" Sirius bellowed. "We charge in, stun all the bastards inside, grab George and go home, end of story!" Tonks shock her head disapprovingly at Sirius while Tom pinned him with a hard glare. "Alright geniuses, I don't suppose you have a better idea."

"How about we sneak in the manor, find George and sneak out unnoticed?" Tonks suggested hopefully.

"That won't work," Tom assured. "The Manor has alarm wards that will alert the owner of any person who trespasses his property, sneaking in is about as likely as persuading the Charms teacher into giving us no homework for the week."

"But that's impossible, that old hag gave us and extra essay to write even from the hospital wing!" Sirius complained.

"My point exactly, there is no way of sneaking into that manor, but" Toms face contorted into a devilish smirk. "I heard that Yaxley sells illegal items, including people, as hobby. So I was thinking we can pretend to be customers interested in buying something to get inside the house. Once inside one of us can excuse himself and ask to go to the restroom and go searching for George. I heard he is extremely flattering towards his customers and that's why the Dark families like him so much."

"Where did you hear that from?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, that was Abraxas Malfoy's feeble attempt at making _friends_," Tom answered. "Selling out ones peers seems to be a common thing among purebloods."

"Not among us," Tonks stated fiercely.

"Well it seems like a good plan," Sirius said. "Let's get to it!"

Tom and Tonks both nodded and the R-Squad was on its way again. After they passed what seemed to be the last house in the city they finally reached the camp side. They saw Yaxley's manor from afar, because it was the only thing which seemed out of contrast with the peaceful and gold colored fields. The kids immediately disliked the house.

Oh, it was imposing; less so then Muller Manor, but the smokyish-gray marmored window ledges and imacular-white walls gave it an eerier feeling then nr 12 Grimmauld Place ever could. It was big, not as much as Malfoy manor, equipped with thousand of wide spread windows and what looked like a ball room on the last floor, that as well guarded by two grayish granite statues of some Greek Goddesses gave it an even gloomier feel.

Sirius took one look at the thing and decided he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, so he quickened his pace and prompted the other two to do the same.

------

Harry, Draco and Luna at long last arrived in Hogsmead.

Once they did Harry made a particularly lame excuse and went his separate way, which angered Draco to no end because he had asked his _supposed best friend_ not to do this to him last night. But _nooo_, Rowling had caught wind of his somewhat romantic feelings for Luna and had taken it upon himself to try and hook the two of them together, never mind the fact that Luna had a _boyfriend_. '_Not for long_,' Draco as, an evil smirk spread on his pointed face.

"Will you stop that! I'm the only one who looks good when she's evil, you just look bad," Luna teased which came as a relief for Draco. De hadn't seen the girl in a good mood since she started da-…never mind.

"Have you decided on what to buy?" He asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, I bullied Hermione into telling me what she wanted last night."

"Heee, and what might that be?"

"Books!" Luna rolled her eyes.

Draco sniggered slightly. "And did you tell her we banned that from the possible gifts list?"

"I did."

"Then it won't be much of a surprise party," he sighed disappointed.

"Nope, but it will still be a party! Not like she wasn't expecting it anyway."

"True, true; I don't know why we even bothered hiding it."

"Well, it would have been interesting don't you think?"

"Yep! So, what are you buying?"

Luna grinned childishly and said in a sing-song voice: "Not telling."

"Oh, come on, tell me!"

"No!" She stubbornly refused but the grin was still wide spread on her child like face, the evil aura that always seemed to accompany her these days had faded into nothingness, much to Draco's relief.

"I'll find out anyway."

"No you won't!" Draco began pouting, but his eyes still shone with amusement.

"Fine! Be that way! Let's see if I let you buy anything this whole trip," he threatened.

"Two can play it that way," Luna grinned at him and dashed towards the first shop.

"Hey! Don't leave me here!" Luna turned, stuck out her tong at him and continued running towards the shops. Draco gave a frustrated sigh and scurried after her.

------

It was sometimes hard for Harry to understand why the hat had placed Jane of all people in Slytherin. Sure she liked to gossip and tease people a lot, but even Gryffindors did that.

"We're here!" Jane announced merrily.

Harry lifted his head to look at the name of the shop, it said: _Stephanie's fashion house_. "There's a version of this shop even here in Hogsmead?" Harry asked a bit sarcastic.

"Of course!" Jane winked. "Everyone knows that Stephanie's is the best fashion house you'll ever find out there!"

"Yep," Ilena Silverstone (4th year Slytherin), agreed. "If you want to buy clothes for someone and leave a good impression in taste and the like then Stephanie's is a must!"

"Tank's girls but, you really shouldn't have gone out of your way to accompany me, I'll be alright," Harry assured them.

"No, no, It's really no bother," Gene Hackman said. "We're already done with the party shopping and we were going to come here anyway."

"Well if you say so," Harry sighed and went into the shop.

He had met Jane and her friends shortly after escaping Draco and Luna; it was clear those two needed some time alone, and he wasn't gonna butt in. Nope he was gonna be a good friend and help Draco, even if the pumped up little bastard thought he didn't need it.

The Stephanie's fashion house looked very much the same as the one in Diagon Alley, with the soul exception of Madam Stephanie, but it didn't bother Harry all that much. There were a few girls, and a couple rooming around the place talking to the employees. A woman dressed in stylish wizarding robes with a pompous looking hat made her way towards them.

"Welcome to Stephanie's," She bowed gracefully. "How may I be of service?"

"The gentleman besides me is interested in the latest design that you released at the start of September. We'd like to see the X size with green and silver colors."

"Of course, one moment please," the attendant bowed and went into the back of the shop.

Harry turned to look quizzically at Jane. "I'm interested in what?"

Jane bent down to whisper in his ear: "Gin's been ogling this dress for weeks."

"Oh," Harry nodded.

"Hey, look over there! Is that Andy MacDowell and Cindy Crawford?" Gene asked.

"Yes, it is!" Ilena confirmed.

Jane sneered. "You would think the MacDowell would sink no less; but bringing a _Mudblood_ in here."

Ilena nodded. "And displaying her like she was gold."

"The nerve of some people."

Oh, Harry knew now why the hat had sorted Jane in Slytherin, though for once he wished he didn't.

-------

"Welcome, welcome dear customers, make yourselves at home," Yaxley led Tom, Tonks and Sirius into the living room.

It didn't take long to convince Yaxley to let them in, the moment they mentioned they were interested in buying something from him his face had lit up like that of a kids who was offered candy and he had scurried them inside. The interior was just about as gloomy and imposing as the exterior was, with state of the art paintings decorating the house, high class furniture and all the rest. Sirius frankly was disgusted to his stomach by the sparkling clean and neatly decorated mansion so he gave Tonks a sharp look, indicating that she should hurry up with the plan.

"Excuse me, Mr. Yaxley; can I use your bath room?" Tonks asked the moment she saw the piercing glare. "We've been on the road for so long…"

"Why of course, how insensitive of me! If I would have known you were coming, I would have sent a carriage to pick you up and spare you the long journey. The restroom in on the first floor-" he pointed towards the stairs, "-the last door in the hall."

"Thank you," Tonks inclined her head and left the group.

"Let's make our way to the dining room; I'm sure you must be hungry after such a long journey."

Tonks waited for Yaxley, Sirius and Tom to disappear in the dining room and took out her wand to perform the point me spell. The spell indicated towards a room at the ground floor, so, after the door to the dining room closed, she quickly made her way towards it.

The door led her to a hallway. There were two house elves guarding one of the rooms which she assumed was where George was kept.

Tonks sighed, she had wanted to get out of this without a fight but apparently that was impossible at the moment. She wasted no time and shot two stunning spells at the house elves. The first hit its target but the second house elf disappeared before the spell could reach him, and a few seconds later the alarm was triggered. Tonks cursed and sped up towards the room.

"Reducto!" She cried and the door burst open to reveal a very baffled George standing in the middle of the room.

"Tonks?" George questioned but his daze was cut short by Tonks who grabbed him roughly by the collar and started dragging him towards the door.

"Come on, we don't have much time!"

------

"So, I heard you were from Germany?" Yaxley inquired.

"Yes. My parents are native Germans but they decided to move to England after the war with Grindelwald started," Sirius answered.

"Interesting," Yaxley stated though his eyes were narrowed, suspicious. "And why, if I may ask, did you're parents not stay and fight for the honor of the pureblood families? If you are one of course." Sirius was at a loss as of what to answer but Tom cut in sharply.

"Are you questioning my friend's status, _Monsieur_?" He hissed malevolently and Yaxley hastily recoiled.

"Not at all! I was merely-"

Just then a weird buzzing noise rang throughout the house and Yaxley jumped to his feet.

"If you would excuse me," Yaxley bowed and made to leave. Sirius panicked. '_Why hadn't Tonks been more careful?_' he thought desperately trying to make up an excuse to keep Yaxley here but to his surprise Tom waved his hand and a vase smashed into Yaxley's head so fast Sirius thought it could have killed him.

"I don't appreciate your hospitality," Tom sneered and lifted himself from the sofa. "We should go!" Sirius mutely nodded and the two ran for the door.

In the living room they met Tonks and George who were busy fighting of 5 house elves.

"Stupefy!" George cried desperately trying to hit one of the house elves who kept disappearing from one place and popping up in another. One appeared in his back and smacked him in the side with a frying pan.

"George!" Tonks scurried towards him and shot a stunning spell at the despicable elf that just popped out of its way.

"This is ridiculous!" Sirius whined as a house elf tried to wham him on the head with a ladle. "I never thought cooking instruments could be so dangerous," Sirius commented as he dodged the ladle and made a wild dash for the elf.

"What are you doing?" Tom snarled. "Head for the door!"

"Oh, right!" Tonks grabbed a hold of George and started running towards the door.

Just then Yaxley, who had a large lump on the back of his head and a murderous expression to rival Uncle Vernon's shrieked: "Seal the exits! Don't let anybody out!"

Tonks and George however made it into the lobby and Sirius wasn't fat behind. Yaxley set his blazing eyes on Sirius. "You come into my house pretending you're customers when all you want to do is steal from me, you _filthy little blood-traitors_! Confringo!" He cried and would have surely hit Sirius square in the back if the door that led to the lobby hadn't of closed in time.

"That was a close one," Sirius sighed in relief.

"The doors are locked!" Tonks cried from in front of the entrance doors.

"Try the Alohomora charm!"

"Think I didn't?" Tonks asked sarcastically. Sirius didn't have a chance to respond because the house elves made another appetence and proceeded to throw knives, spoons and anything they could get their hands on while some were chasing after George and Tonks with a frying pan, a ladle and ropes.

"This just keeps getting better and better," George muttered as he dodged a stray knife.

"Come on people they're just house elves!" Sirius bellowed and tried to hex one, but the nasty little creature only popped up in another place and stuck out its thong at him.

"Easy for you to say," Tonks whined as she wrestled two house elves who were trying to tie her up.

"Where's Tom?" Sirius asked.

Tom was still in the living room glaring at the closed door.

"Well at least I still have you on this side," Yaxley smugly stated. "Your friends will be taken care of by my house elves and when this is over, I'm going to sell every one of you to the first buyer! You just aren't worth the trouble!" He pointed his wand lazily at Tom and cried "Petrificus Totalus!"

Tom side stepped the spell and turned his furious glare towards Yaxley. "You would have killed Sirius if that spell had hit," he said in a deadly quiet voice.

"Wish it had," Yaxley sneered. "One less of you punks to worry about!" The poor, poor man would live to regret those words every bit of what was left of his miserable life.

His wand arm suddenly gave a violent jerk and the next thing he knew intense pain, the likes of witch he had never felt before shot through it as its bones broke gradually one at a time and started coiling around his elbow like a rope. Yaxley's howled screams echoed in the otherwise silent chamber. "What are you-?"

He didn't even get to finish that because he was violently shoved into the wall, his left shoulder colliding heavily with the concrete block.

"You really shouldn't have said that!" Tom hissed maliciously. "You know,-" he began walking towards him a twisted smile that contorted his features into something sinister spread on his face, "-there is a spell I've been just _dying_ to try out, but you see, it's a dark spell… sort of, so I couldn't actually try it out at Hogwarts. But here, no one would stop me." Yaxley squeaked in terror and tried to grab his wand with his left hand.

"Acio!" Tom shock his head disappointed. "A, a, a, don't be a cheat. See! I'm not using a wand either." Tom gave another one of his sinister smiles and the next moment Yaxley's screams could be heard throughout the entire house.

------

"Why you bloody little pest!" Sirius whammed the ladle out of the elf's hand and started chasing him with it. "Come here and I'll show you just how much that _hurts_!!"

"Help!" Tonks was still struggling like mad with the ropes around her while the two house elves were trying to drag her towards a door with little results.

"Tonks, hold on!" George tried desperately to reach her and escape being slammed on the head with a frying pan and a bunch of vicious flying knives that were directed by one of the elves; so far, he was making little progress.

WHAM

Sirius finally managed to knock his house elf unconscious and darted towards Tonks, the ladle still firmly held in his hand like a mighty sword that could cut through steel.

"AAAAAAA" he sprang his mighty metal made weapon at one of the elves but it vanished out of reach. He took a savage swing at the other house elf but the one who had just disappeared popped up behind him and tied a rope around his feet.

Tonks used the moment of diversion to free herself from the ropes and lung herself at the house elf that had bounded Sirius. She caught him by the throat, through her fist back and smashed it into the elf's face before said creature diapered and popped back a few strides away only to fall to the ground with a loud THUMP. Sirius in the meantime had disentangled himself from the rope and resumed chasing after the house elf with the ladle. George then decide to make himself known and darted towards them, the flying knives dangerously close behind him.

"Tonks!" he whined.

Tonks took one look at him, gave a piercing scream and began running away.

"Hey! Help me!" George whined.

"Help yourself!" Tonks shrieked.

Sirius finally managed to smack the annoying elf across the head and sighed in frustration when he saw the other two running from the flying knives. He quietly made his way towards the elf which controlled them and was about to slam him on the head when the last elf made his appearance and banged his frying pan straight into Sirius's small and sensitive nose. He stumbled backwards and tripped on one of the other elves that he had knocked unconscious. The upper mentioned elf proceeded to banging the frying pan on Sirius's head but Sirius slung his ladle in front and no sooner were the two in and all out sword style fight, ladle vs the frying pan.

George, tired of running from the flying knives proceeded to blasting them one at a time and wondered why he hadn't thought of it earlier.

Tonks swung out of the way of a knife and was about to do the same as George when one particularly sharp knife entangled itself into her hair and cut it clean off so that the right side was now shorter then the left. The knife darted for another vicious attack at her face but Tonks caught it and shrieked "How _dare you_ cut my hair!"

She through the knife back at the house elf who stopped it and was about to send it back when he saw a multitude of hexes, jinks and curses flying his way. Tonks started reining hexes at the poor house elf that didn't have time to even blink between apparitions and to his misfortune landed straight in front of George who cursed him into oblivion, so to speak.

Sirius finally managed to out power the house elf; the frying pan flying straight out of his hand and the victorious ladle collided harshly with the creatures head; it stumbled backwards and hit the ground unconscious. "Phew, I'm glad that's over with!" Sirius sighed exhausted.

"Man I _never_ EVER want to piss a house elf again!" George commented dryly.

The door to the Living room suddenly opened and out came Tom looking rather pleased with himself.

"Where have you been mate? You missed out on all the fun," Sirius smiled weekly.

"I was trying to convince Yaxley to open the front doors," Tom replied.

"Well, did it work?" Sirius asked and straightened up.

"Oh, yes," Tom gave a crooked smile and started for the door. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

"I'm right behind you," George said and hurried after Tom.

------

The journey back to Hogwarts was not and easy one. The kids were all tired and magically exhausted. With a little luck and a lot of will power they managed however to arrive at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at approximately 11 o'clock, and got caught by the caretaker Matt Brown. Tom gave a frustrated sighed, whipped out his wand and muttered "Obliviate!" The caretaker fell to the floor unconscious. The other three stared at him in aw.

"What? Do you_ want_ to get caught looking like you just came out of a blood war? I bet you'll have a great time explaining that to your head of house…and the headmaster…and your parents."

"Ok, ok, we get it," Sirius assured. "Thanks Tom, we couldn't have done it without you." Sirius smiled gratefully at him and Tom inclined his head.

"It was nothing really."

"It was!" Tonks protested. "We would have spent hour trying to locate the manor if it wasn't for you."

"Yeah, thanks mate." George grinned and held out his hand. "So, are we friends?"

Tom faille to his the shock that overcame him at hearing George's words. "_You_ want to be friends with _me_?" He asked baffled.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" George asked confused.

"Because I'm a Slytherin and Gryffindors hate Slytherins and-"

"Oh, will you knock it off!" George glared disappointedly at him. "We don't care bout that! We've been trying to talk to you since the sorting, but you keep ignoring us."

"I…I thought you didn't want to speak to me again," Tom finished in a whisper.

"That's a load of bull!" Tonks cut in. "Of course we wanted to speak with you again! And we want to be friends, but we thought you didn't." She finished in a weak voice.

"I DO! I just…" Tom assured.

"Really?" Tonks asked excited.

Tom nodded shyly. Tonks beamed at him and enveloped him in a bon crushing hug.

"Then it's settled," Sirius grinned widely. "As of today, you my friend-" he patted Tom on the shoulder "-are the newest member of the Marauders!"

------

September 19 finally came and so did the birthday parties of Virginia Parkinson and Hermione Watson.

Tom had spent most of the day with the Marauders, just like he had yesterday and only in the evening did he make an appearance in the Slytherin common room where Virginia's birthday party was at its peek.

Vincent Yaxley had been called yesterday to the headmaster's office and sent home. Apparently there had been and attack at his house and his father had sustained major damage, some said it could be permanent; anyways it seemed he wouldn't be back in school for quite some time.

Crabbe and Goyle had wisely kept their mouths shut about Tom's questioning of the whereabouts of Yaxley manor the very same day of the attack and were happily celebrating their first Outstanding result on an Arithmancy assignment.

Harry finally managed to give his present to Virginia (after a bunch of death threats and promises of public humiliation on Jane's part) and had received a peek on the cheek and a brilliant smile from the girl.

At midnight he and Draco quickly made a lame excuse to leave the party and headed for the Room of Requirement where Hermione's party was held. The other kids had already gathered there, but as was expected were tired and sleepy, Hermione included, so they hastily cut the cake and exchanged presents and in one hour's time were off to bed again, glad that they had finally made progress with Riddle and that today was finally over and done with.

------

**A/N:** As am I! Man, I thought I'd never finish this chapter, but as promised here it is. My request as always Review!


	15. Chapter 14: Tom and Harry

**AN:** Sorry for the late update! I was sick, and therefore in no mood to write anything and my cousin is getting married this week so, I won't be able to write more then 1 chapter, but as soon as my cousin's wedding is out of the way, I'll try my best to make it up to you guys. Hope you like it and Review!

**Chapter 14: Tom and Harry**

Armando Dippet, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had seen many unusual things in the almost 70 years that he'd been at Hogwarts, as such he was not easily impressed or taken by surprise, after all, many of those unbelievable little wonders that occurred around the world were routine here. The student's were always bound to do something new every day, either to try and impress someone, or to annoy, whatever the reason, there was no way a day could pass by in which the Headmaster didn't have to punish a certain student, or two.

However, in all his years at Hogwarts he had never before came across a couple of first years who had incapacitated 4 teachers in less then 24 hours. Oh, he had heard rumors of the two, but at the time, they seemed of little importance to him; certainly not more important then catching the school's new pranksters who had literally ruined the staff room (and sent two teachers to madam Gray in the process), and especially not after the incident in witch someone had tried to strangle and poison two of his teachers, and had thrown the Charms teacher of the stairs (not that she wasn't asking for it), but now… the two had become quite the pests.

It was ridiculous when you thought of it, because, technically speaking, it had been his fault. He had sent those…_little devils_ to their head of house when he caught them fighting (and swearing like mad), in the hallway (although he had warned them at the opening feast that that wasn't allowed), only to receive news one hour later that his potion's professor was lying unconscious in the hospital wing. He had dismissed that as Slughorn's fault, after all, he was known for being easily distracted, he could have messed up a potion or something (it wouldn't be the first time). So he had asked the staff members to take care of it.

The Charms teacher, the ever so lovely of the lot, had rushed to help the troubled Potion's master when she had caught wind of who was in trouble. She two had ended up in madam Gray's office, faster so then Slughorn had. Of course Dipped had blamed that on the fact that Claire was one of those teachers that students loved to hate, so, one of them must have extracted vengeance on her for who knows whatever reason (it's not like it didn't happen before).

His ever faithful Herbology teacher, champion duelist and feared Ex-Auror had assured him he'd take care of the situation, and that had of course guaranteed Dipped that nothing else could go wrong. 4 hours later the Headmaster had been summoned once more in the hospital wing, only to find the great Herbert Beery looking like he had just dueled 100 dark wizards and had valiantly taken down a few tens before finally falling to his glorious death…faint, whatever.

Dipped had panicked, naturally assuming that students couldn't of possibly do this to the famous Auror, so he had blamed it on either dark wizards who held a grudge against him, or someone from Grindelwald's side. He had, as per normal, ordered the lock down of the school, instructed the professors to check the inside for any intruders and had asked the minister to send in a few Aurors to check the surroundings; all for nothing now that he thought about it.

Mr. Ivanov had complained that he couldn't find his two friends so; Dipped had sent Dumbledore after the two Slytheris, because in times like this, the Headmaster was supposed to be available in case they needed him. Imagine his surprises when even the great Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, considered by many to be the greatest wizard since Merlin himself, was brought to Madam Gray by the Aurors the minister had dispatched with a concussion and a few nasty cuts. However Albus being Albus had naturally brought his attackers down with him. Harry Daniel Rowling and Tom Marvolo Riddle were restrained by some of the most strongest binding spells Dipped had ever seen, their wands were securely glued to Dumbledore's belt and madam Gray was force-feeding them calming draught.

The fun did not stop there, _nooo_, far from it. The Aurors had of course praised the kid's dueling skills and had gone as far as suggesting they personally train the two. Dipped of course agreed that whoever could give Dumbledore a hard time was worth keeping, especially since the war with Grindelwald was upon them, so he had done the most human thing possible, and had left all the responsibility of the two devils in the Auror's hands (after all, they were trained for this stuff, unlike him).

-----

Harry and Tom were cursing their luck that Friday. Not only did Dippet let those blasted Aurors overload their Saturdays with classes, but he also moved the two to 4th grade for Charms, Transfigurations and DADA, which meant an overload of their schedule in general. Now it was something like this:

_**Monaday**__: 10:00 Charms(G-H)/ 14:00 DADA(R-H) / 15:00 DADA(R-G)/ 17:00 Charms(R-H)/ 18:00 Charms(R-S);_

_**Thursday**__: 10:00 Potions(H)/ 14:00 Charms(R-G)/16:00 DADA(S-H)/ 17:00 Trans.(R-S);_

_**Wednesday: **__11:00 Herbologi(G)/ 15:00 Trans.(G-R)/ 16:00 Trans.(G-S)/ 18:00 DADA(R-S)/ 24:00 Astronomy;_

_**Thursday: **__10:00 HoM(G)/ 14:00 Charms(S-H) / 15:00) Charms(S-G)/ 16:00 DADA(G-H)/ 17:00 DADA(G-S);_

_**Friday: **__10:00 Flying(R)/ 11:00 Potions(R)/ 14:00 Trans.(H-G)/ 15:00 Trans.(H-R)/ 17:00 Trans.(H-S);_

_**Saturday:**__10:00 JHC /11:00 JHC /14:00 WM / 15:00 OL / 16:00 DC/ 17:00 DC;_

_JHC-Jinxes, Hexes and Curses - Auror Richard Shacklebolt_

_WM-Wandless Magic and it's uses - Auror Stephany Hays_

_OL-The advantage of Occlumency and Legilimency - Auror Sebastian Taylor_

_DC-Dueling Club - Professor Herbert Beery_

Of course this meant that Tom was spared the pleasure of working on his Charms essay, since he wasn't a firstly in that subject anymore and that the Slytherin's had reached a whole new level of smugness, seeing as _their_ first years were specially trained by _Aurors_, and were boosting their ego left and right, and of course sneering in the Ravenclaw's and Gryffindor's faces.

Harry for once did mind the extra DADA and Transfigurations classes, for fuck sake he didn't have to go to ALL of the courses, and he definitely _didn't_ enjoy the extra Charms classes. He was lucky however that the change didn't start until next week or he'd be in Dumbledore's class right now. The Auror classes however started tomorrow, much to his chagrin.

"HARRY!" Hermione's booming voice could be heard throughout the whole castle.

"What the hell were you THINKING? If you were even thinking at all, which wouldn't come as a surprise mind you; you've never been one to asses the situation before bumping head first into it, but seriously, you could have gotten yourself expelled!" Hermione stopped to catch her breath, but looked ready to go on.

"WAIT!" Harry pleaded. "Before you start screaming again, give me a chance to explain myself!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes dangerously and said "Explain!"

Harry fidget on the spot and began scratching his head nervously. "Well, there is a very good reason why I fought with Riddle, and that is…"

"Yes!" Hermione asked impatiently.

"I forgot," Harry answered weekly. "But I _swear_ it was a good one, I just can't remember!"

"Oh, yeah. Like that would work!" Hermione proceeded to screaming at him for nearly half an hour and threw him dirty looks whenever he passed her in the corridor. Sirius, George and Tonks came to express they displeasure as well, Luna hexed him straight to Madam Gray, Hannah, Edward and Draco were giving him the silent treatment, and Minerva had sent him a Howler. All in all, the day couldn't have been worse.

-----

It was a gloomy Saturday outside. The rain was pouring like mad, the skies were drenched in a cold and unwelcoming shade of gray and the wind was blowing furiously across the castle grounds. Not even the bravest of people (like the Gryffindor Quidditch team), or the most ambitious (like the Slytherin Quidditch team) dared to venture outside. The students were trapped inside, playing exploding-snap, or wizard's chess, or any other boring game. Harry was keeping his fingers crossed so that the Aurors who were supposed to come and teach him and Tom would be discouraged by the weather outside and he'd have the day off. However when Slughorn came at 9:45 to get them, he knew lady luck wasn't on his side today.

Slughorn brought them to an abandoned classroom on the 5th floor, knocked once and left as fast as he could.

"Enter!" A strong commanding voice resounded from somewhere inside.

Harry was looking doubtfully at the door in front while Tom was closely inspecting the door knob.

Seeing as Tom made absolutely no attempt at opening the door Harry reached out to do it himself, but Tom grabbed his hand before it reached the knob.

"Are you that _thick_ that you can't _see_ the door is jinxed?" Tom asked unbelievably.

Harry took a close look at the knob but as per usual didn't see anything wrong with it. Was Riddle pulling his leg or what?

"You really are that thick," Tom rolled his eyes.

"Look Riddle, I don't want to take this class either, but _I_ unlike _you_ do care if I piss off an Auror for making him wait to long," Harry stated and turned to give a doubtful look at the door.

"Fine! Then what are you waiting for? Go ahead! Open it!" Riddle folded his hands over his chest and proceeded to glare at him.

"Why are you helping me?" Harry asked curiously.

"Because it would be to pathetic if my arch-rival died because of a jinxed door knob," Riddle stated flatly. "Think of the reflection that would have on me!" He added outraged.

"Ok _genius_, then you open the door!" Harry said vexed.

"I think I shell, since you're clearly not apt to do it yourself," Riddle stated smugly. He ignored Harry's death glare and pulled out his wand. "Finite Incantatem," he said and in the next moment Harry felt it, like the light of a candle being suddenly extinguished the door knob popped a few sparks and the faint trail of magic, he hadn't even realized was there, disappeared. Riddle pulled the door open and inclined his head mockingly. "Lady's first."

"Very funny!" Harry marched into the classroom without a second thought, but no sooner that he passed the threshold a shower of spells were cast his way.

"What the!" He cursed as he dived out of the way casting a few shielding charms for the ones he couldn't evade and jumped behind a desk.

"Now that is a much better way to go down," Tom lazily commented from the doorway. "Defeated by an Auror, people wouldn't expect any less from you."

"Why you little!" Harry was fuming. He couldn't believe he'd plaid right into Riddle's trap. _Of all the stupid…_

He cautiously looked around the room for his attacker but found no one.

_He's using an invisibility cloak_, Harry realized. "Acio cloak!" he cried.

A muffled yell was heard from somewhere to his right and the cloak flew smoothly into his hand.

In the far corner, lay a 6.3 feet tall, massive looking, mustache faced, black wizard dressed in purplish robes assorted with a blue almost violet looking hat. The tall wizard rose to his full height and Harry was suddenly reminded that he was an 11 year old again. But that was not all; the resemblance between the stranger and Kingsley Shacklebolt was unnerving to say the least.

Harry was rotten to the spot, glaring at the ghost of his past who had come back to haunt him. He didn't even realize when the Shacklebolt-look-alike fired a curs, or when Tom walked into the room up until he was violently shoved backwards and nearly banged his head on the table in front.

"Bombarda," Tom hissed and the table in front of the stranger exploded in a thick pile of dust, effectively covering them from view. Tom dragged Harry behind a desk and bitterly said: "It seems that Dippet is getting tired of having his staff hospitalized so now they let us make do with Aurors." An evil sort of smirk crossed Tom features before he turned to Harry. "You up for the challenge?" He asked tauntingly.

"What are the rules?"

"First one who knocks down the Auror wins."

"Deal."

Both Harry and Tom rushed out of cover at the same time one coming from the left the other one from the right, and the misfortunate Auror was soon to find out what exactly his friend had meant when they had told him this morning that the kids would_ rock his world. _

Both Harry and Tom started showering down cursed on the poor Auror from every direction.

While Harry was aiming towards the stun or disarm strategy. "Expelliarmus! Supefy! Confundo!"

Tom was aiming for more serious damage. "Confringo! Deprimo! Diffindo!"

The Auror was forced to duck under a desk in order to avoid Harry's attacks but had to change locations rather quickly as Tom's spell blasted the table in millions of tiny bits of wood.

"Now, now, Mister Auror, _sir; _what type of lesson are you trying to teach us, the art of cowardice?" Tom sent the Auror a mock glare.

"Most certainly not!" The Auror protested and blocked one of Harry's trademark stunning spells. He realized to his dismay that the spells had a lot more power behind them that any normal kid of mere 11 would be able to produce. This was proving to be quite interesting.

"Carpe Retractum," a long jelly like beam shot out of Tom's wand and missed the Auror by centimeter only to collide with a desk from a few steps back. Tom smirked victoriously as gave a mighty pull. The desk swung towards the Auror and collided with his left side however Harry's stunning hex hit home and the Auror fell backwards.

"Ha! In your face!" Harry cheered triumphantly.

"Hey! That was my desk!" Tom whined.

"And My Stunning Spell!"

They pointed their wands threateningly at each other a rather nasty curse at the tip of their tongues when they heard a groan coming from the fallen Auror's direction.

"Don't think Richard Shacklebolt is so easily take down!" Richard rose up to his full height again and before both boys could speak fired two stunning spells in their direction.

Harry ducked behind a desk while Tom cast a shield.

"Finally decided to fight back."

"As much as I hate fighting children… you two don't qualify as such in my opinion. Stupefy!"

"You'll lose if you stay on the defensive side," Tom warned as he sidestepped the hex. "Deprimo!"

Richard threw himself behind a desk that blocked him completely out of Harry's view and decided to concentrate on taking down Tom first (he was clearly the most dangerous of the lot). "Stupefy!" He yelled; regardless of what he said earlier this was still a kid he was facing.

"I told you," Tom said irritated. "Defense won't work against me! Bombarda!"

A jet of light flew menacingly at him. Richard hurriedly jumped out of the way only to be nearly hit by a stunning spell shot by Harry. Unfortunately in his attempt to evade the stunner he had lost focus of Tom, which he'd soon learn was not a wise decision, when the large desk in his back exploded and he being much to close to the shock wave stumbled backwards, a nasty cut was visible on his back.

"Tom!" Harry bellowed. "You didn't have to be such an ass!"

"All's fair in love and war," Tom quoted smugly.

"We have to take him to the hospital wing," Harry protested.

"No, not yet." Tom jumped out of the way of a blasting hex and smirk delighted. "I see you finally decided to play tough."

"I've been taking it easy with you kids, but no more," Richard assured. "Petrificus Totalus!" He yelled in Harry's direction and threw a baffling charm Tom's way.

Tom lazily sided stepped the spell and shot a series of blasting hexes which the Auror countered with one of his own.

"Deprimo!" Harry made his presence know by nearly hitting the Auror over the head, but he ducked just in time. "Descendo!" He pointed his wand at the chandelier on the roof, but unfortunately took his eyes of the Auror who took the chance to get rid of one of them.

"Stupefy!" Harry was hit straight in the chest and stumbled backwards.

_Good_, the Auror thought. _Now there's only one left._

"Diffindo!" He barely had time to jump out of the way but he felt it, the power that was sent behind the hex. Richard gazed in utter shock as the desk the spell hit tore itself to pieces from the inside out.

"You know," Tom said in a deathly quiet voice. "You really should have concentrated on me first."

The next thing he knew the desk to his right was viciously flying towards him and a total of 3 blasting hexes were cast his way. The Auror ducked out of the table's way and the 3 hexes assaulted it with a defining BOOM. He rolled on to the side to prevent being hit by the splinters and found that he had landed straight in Riddle's firing range. He tried sitting up and cast a quick shield to block the upcoming hex but something hard collided with his back side and he was sent flying face first into the hex witch proved to be a stunner. Richard fell awkwardly to the side after another painful collision with the table.

"Enervate!" Harry slowly opened his eyes to come face to face with Riddle's trademark smirk. "Are you still alive?"

"What are you laughing at," Harry snapped and rose to his feet. "I bet he took you down quite easily after that!" Tom still looking smugger then ever pointed a lazy finger towards the place the Auror was still lying unconscious. "Merlin's beard, you did it!"

"You were something akin to a pest," Tom sneered. "It was so much easier to take him down with you out of the picture."

Harry turned to glare at him then proceeded to wake the fallen Auror. "Are you alright sir?" he asked concerned.

"Yes," Richard said in a week voice. "Yes. That was an interesting battle. I underestimated you to the end," he scowled at himself. "It won't happen again," he directed his threat towards Riddle who gave him a mock glare that clearly said _like hell it won't! _

"Do you need to go to the hospital wing?" Harry asked.

"No," Richard waved a dismissive hand. "I'll go after I'm finished here."

"What are we still fighting?" Harry asked surprised.

"Heaven's no! I'm not that keen on dying so fast," Richard assured. "We're moving to the theoretical part of our lessons," he stated smugly. Harry groaned out loud and Tom sighed in defeat.

The lesson wasn't so bad. Richard told the kids that they'd spend up until Christmas break on jinxes, which's lack he reprimanded the two for, and gave them as homework to research 3 jinxes and present them to him at their next encounter.

Next up they had _Wandless Magic and its uses_ with an Auror named Stephany Hays.

They made their way towards an empty classroom a few strides left from Richard's class and waited patiently for their teacher. Harry still had his fingers crossed hoping that being a woman she'd be much easily discouraged by the raging weather outside, but to his dismay, 5 minutes later a woman in her early 20s made her way in the classroom.

She had curly brown hair; her eyes were a warm milky-chocolate color with a mother like smile spread on her heart-shaped face. She was wearing yellow pants, with a white plover and a yellow rain jacket on top.

"Hello kids! I hope I didn't make you wait too long." Her voice was kind and soothing and her smile was similar to that of an angels.

Harry and Tom couldn't help it as two identically huge smiles spread on their faces and they shock their heads as a silent reply.

Tom didn't know what was it about this woman that made him feel so…_happy?_ _No, scratch that, he felt…relaxed, yes that was a better answer._ But he inadvertently found that he liked her.

"Ok, let's start by introducing ourselves, my name is Stephany Hays, my close friends call me Step."

"Harry Daniel Rowling, my close friends call me Harry."

"Can I call you Danny," Stephany asked with a puppy dog smile that Harry found hard to refuse. He nodded his consent and lowered his eyes, blushing furiously.

"Tom Riddle, I don't have a nickname."

"How bout Tommy?"

"No."

"No?"

"No!"

"Please!"

"No."

"Pretty please!"

"No!"

"Pretty, pretty please!"

"Ah, fine," Tom gave in.

"Yey!"

"But not in public!" He threatened.

"Okay. So! Tommy, Danny, as of today we will be learning how to cast wandless spells!"

The class was one of the fluffiest and most rainbow colored classes the two had ever been too. It passed in something similar to a trance. Stephany explained that while in a good mode a person could easily cast wandless spells, and she proved her point when Harry managed by the end of the class to cast the Descendo spell without breaking a sweat.

The boys didn't even realize when the class ended but when it did; they found their _Occlumency and Legilimency_ teacher, Auror Sebastian Taylor waiting outside the door.

"Hello there Mr. Taylor," Stephany greeted and Mr. Taylor turned a scarlet shade of red that would have made any Gryffindor proud. "I can't believe you actually took the job," Stephany said enthusiastically. "What made you change your mind?"

The poor man was red in the face, fidgeting from one side to the other and looking at his shoes as if they were the most interesting thing in the world when he spoke. "Well, I… I've be thinking about what you said (Stephany nodded), and I've decided that (he adapted a proud voice and lifted his head to look at a point somewhere beyond Stephany's face), the children of today (dramatic pause), deserve nothing but the best from society! And so, I, as one of the best Occlumency experts on the field, should embrace my destiny and share my knowledge with them, as many of my kind have done in their respectful time!"

Stephany clapped truly moved. "That's the spirit Mr. Taylor!" She patted him encouragingly on the back. "If only there were more people like you in this world," she sighed sadly then turned to leave. Only now did Sebastian's head shot up to give a longing look at the retrieving back of Stephany Hays.

"Aham!" Tom cleared his throat and snapped Sebastian out of his days.

"What," Sebastian turned to look at them and staid in that position for a long time; then he pulled his uncaring mask on and said stiffly. "Well? What are you two waiting for? Inside, right now!"

Tom smirked in his face and went inside while Harry muffled a snigger. Sebastian sighed, knowing what lied ahead of him and entered the classroom.

"My name (dramatic pause), is Sebastian Taylor, in case you didn't know!"

"We knew," Tom answered bored.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at him but took a steady breath and relaxed his features back in an emotionless mask.

"I shell _not_ tolerate messing around in my class," he continued giving no impression that the embarrassing moment from a few seconds ago had occurred. "This is a delicate subject that (Tom snorted), you must treat with the utmost of care! The mind (Harry started yawning), is the most important asset of a human being, and without it you are _worthless_!" He glared at the two kids then carried on. "Therefore we must nurture and maintain it as sane and as healthy as we best can (Tom set his head on the table and began snoring loudly). For it is the one who will guide us throughout the difficult and most dreadful parts of our human life! Now listen here you two!" Sebastian said in what he thought was an authoritarian voice but it paled in comparison to Snape or Dumbledore for the matter. "This class is important! I am dedicating you a crucial part of my time and you two should be grateful for it!"

At this Tom's head shot up and he turned a mocking look at the Auror. "Hmm, are you really wasting your time for us, I wonder?" Harry nodded his consent and the two proceed to scrutinize him with their glares, their predatory eyes looking at him gleefully, as if they knew something important; and he knew they knew; and he knew what exactly they knew! It wasn't like it was a secret!_ Everybody_ knew except Miss Hays! And he had made himself look like a fool again.

"Of course it's for you!" He shrieked outraged and pulled out a book from his bag. "Page 21! Now!"

Tom was in a giddy mood after Sebastian's class, as for Harry, he couldn't stop smiling.

The Dueling Class was less entertaining seeing as Berry was still throwing tantrums about his humiliating defeat a few days ago which amuse Tom quite a bit. So he and Harry had the pleasure of sending him to the Hospital Wing again, and wreck havoc during the remaining hour. All in all, it wasn't such a bad day, not for them at least.


	16. Chapter 15: Rotten Luck

**AN**: Sorry to said this but the following chapters will be the Halloween and Christmas holidays (I've postponed them for far too long), and then a few more chapters and that's it with the first year, and no it's not the end of the fic! But I will be taking a break after that since second year is the one with the most gaps in the plot and I want to fix that. Anyway enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think.

**Chapter 15: Rotten Luck**

Halloween was going to be a messy affair this year; the Marauders could vouch for that.

Tom, Sirius, Tonks and George had spent the whole of October planning this night, and they would be danged if they didn't go down in history for it. On month's worth of preparation, of testing out traps, of furious planning and experimenting with new ideas and god only knows what else they had done, but they had finally managed to create the perfect prank; it was going to be pandemonium if it all worked out right. Now all that remained was setting out the prank witch was easier said then done since they had little time on their hands and a lot of ground to cover.

Sirius and George had to take care of the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall, all in one night. Tonks was in charge of the Hufflepuff common room and Tom of the Slytherin, and then the two had to find out where the Ravenclaw common room was and take care of that together. Then the four would meat up and butcher the staff room again, and let's not forget the class rooms. Sounds easy, right?

Well it was anything but!

It was only by sheer misfortune that the day before Halloween happened to be a Saturday, which meant that Tom had classes and less time to help Tonks locate the Ravenclaw common room (Hermione and Luna wouldn't tell), which meant Tonks was alone in this.

Sirius had managed to land himself in detention (with the Charms teacher) because he had been _laughing_ in her class (Claire had reached a whole new level of rigorousness after her last trip to the hospital wing), meaning George had to sneak into Hogsmead and carry all the remaining items by himself, much to the other's concern, but he assured them he'd be fine. The others of course refused to let him go without protection so he had been given the Marauder's map, Harry's invisibility cloak (Sirius had _borrowed_ it), Tom had placed a tracing charm on him and a number of other spells which George had no idea what they were, and Tonks had glamour him to look like a dwarf.

So on the 30 of October, Saturday at 10:00, while Tom was making his way towards Richard Shacklebolt's class and Sirius was heading towards Claire Littleton's office, George was heading down towards the Whomping Willow completely covered under his invisibility cloak.

------

Draco was on the move again. He had been trying to get to Demeter (or get Luna to dump him) in the past month so that he could tell Hyperion he wasn't in need of his services anymore. To be honest, Draco had been blinded by rage the first couple of days, but he had never once considered killing the boy, far from it, maybe scare him out of his mind and make him regret the day he decided to mess with _his Luna_, but never kill him! He wasn't a murderer for Merlin's sake! He doubted he could kill Riddle if worse came at hand.

Draco had naturally talked to Hyperion, but he couldn't just tell the Malfoy heir that he wanted to go back on his word, so, instead he had persuaded the 5th year into letting him extract vengeance his own way, saying it would be more satisfying this way (which it would and he's have a clear conscience too), and Hyperion had agreed to give him up until Christmas break, which still meant plenty of time.

Demeter, however, was just about as lucky as (if not even more so then), he was before. And the worst part was Hyperion had started circling his pray. He had given the boy an invitation to the New Years party, and it didn't take a genius to realize that Demeter was going to be in serious trouble if he carried on as it was.

Demeter at the present was talking to Luna, who now that Draco took a closer look at, was either ignoring the boy or bossing him around (which he didn't seem to mind). They never held hands, or went on date, or kissed, or did anything a normal couple would do. Demeter was just _there_, hanging like a leach on Luna's side, which made Draco wonder why Luna chose to date him in the first place.

They were currently in the library, Luna and Demeter were sitting a few benches away, Demeter was working on what looked like the Herbology essay while Luna was reading _1000 ways to curse your enemies_ by Vlad Viridian. Draco was supposedly working on his Charms essay. In another time he would have dragged Rowling to the library with him, but now that that stupid Headmaster moved him to advanced classes in 3 subjects, Draco barely saw the boy 3 times a day, and that was usually at meals. He hadn't really thought about it, but he missed Rowling. Ever since they had enrolled into Hogwarts it had always been the two of them. Constantly making trouble and getting in detentions together, now he was back to being a lone wolf, like his 6th year…

"Do you want it to be 10 feet long or 15?" Demeter's squeaky voice brought Draco out of his mussing.

Luna lazily looked at him and waved a dismissive hand. "Make it as long as you can," she said and turned back to her reading. Demeter nodded slightly and returned to writing.

_Demeter is writing Luna's essay? Now that is odd_, thought Draco. He remembered he tried to do the same for her in his 7th year when she had complained about having problems with the Dark Arts class, but she had stubbornly refused his help saying she would never take advantage of a friend like that, why was Demeter any different?

"Hi there Drake!" Now that was a voice he didn't want to hear.

"Hello Hyperion," Draco nodded curtly. "What brings you here?"

Hyperion nodded his head in Demeter's direction and took a seat next to him.

"Came to see how you were doing. I wouldn't say to well considering that fact that the plump boy hasn't seen Madam Gray once this whole month."

"He'll get there," Draco assured and turned to scowl at Demeter.

"Why don't you just relax and let me take care of him?" Hyperion questioned. "It would be so much easy on you that way."

"But it won't be much fun," Draco pointed out. "Since I'm the one with the grudge against him, I think I reserve the right to extract retribution."

"Of course you do!" Hyperion assured, patting him on the back. "I just wanted to remind you that you're not alone; that there will always be someone here willing to help you take care of your problems."

"I appreciate it, but my time is not up," was Draco's firm reply.

Hyperion nodded. "Suit yourself. You are coming to the Malfoy's New Year party aren't you?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Draco assured, and he wasn't lying. It had been so long since he last saw Malfoy Manor; he hadn't had the chance to visit it after he's escape from Azkaban.

Hyperion stalked over to Luna and Demeter's table and inquired. "I trust you two will be attending the Malfoy's New Years' party?"

Luna nodded not looking up from her book while Demeter whispered a soft "Of course," and Hyperion was off.

"How come you didn't tell me you were invited?" Luna asked after Hyperion had left.

"I thought you knew, since Hyperion told me you'd go and all," Demeter answered.

"Did he now," Luna said with a pensive look on he face. Demeter nodded looking concerned at her.

"Douse it bother you if I go?" Demeter asked lowering his face to the ground. Draco kept his fingers crossed so Luna would say yes, but to his dismay she didn't.

"No, that's alright. It'll be boring hanging out with all those pumped up purebloods; you'll be a good distraction."

Demeter smiled at that. "Okay, if you want me to go, then I will."

"Now get back to writing," she ordered promptly and resumed reading.

Draco couldn't believe how glad he was that Luna would be hanging around Demeter (did he really want to protect the boy that badly?), and at the same time disappointed to hear her talk about purebloods in such a way. Was he too one of those boring and pumped up people she so disliked?

_Where's Harry when you need him?_

-------

Tonks didn't know who to talk to. She couldn't let Tom take care of the Ravenclaw common room after a long day of study; that would be just rude of her, so she decided to try herself. The problem was she didn't actually know any Ravenclaws besides Hermione and Luna, and she couldn't ask them even if she'd wanted. Those two would definitely put two and two together and figure out who ruined their common room, and then they'd be in trouble (not that she doubted they would find out anyways but still, it was better then telling them out front).

As she was sitting miserably on the marble staircase, trying to come up with a decent plan, the luckiest thing happened: Hannah nearly walked over her. That in itself was not a pleasant thing; nonetheless Tonks had found the perfect informant.

"Hannah!" Tonks sat up right and caught her friend before she could fall down the stairs. "Where's the fire?" She asked jokingly at seeing the other girl's worried face.

"Sorry Pan," Hannah apologized. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"I can see th-"

"Have you seen Edward?" Hannah blurred out before Tonks could finish her sentence.

"No. Why? Did something happen to him?" Tonks asked confused.

"No, I mean, I… I don't know. He's been acting really weird, Pna, he's been avoiding me and I… I don't know what to think! He has this look in his eyes every time he looks at me, it's like… it's like he _hates me_!" She said all this in a very fast voice, that Tonks barely had time to register half of it, only the last part was whispered.

"What?" Tonks asked looking baffled. "Han, honey-" she took her face between her palms and turned her head towards her, "-listen to me! Ed _likes you_, and quite a lot! I'm sure of it," she said firmly. "And you're an idiot to think otherwise! He probably just has some problems and needs some time alone, you know boys' stuff; he'll get over it!"

"But, he's been acting strange for over a month now and he's been avoiding me all week," Hannah whined desperately.

"Well, did you ask him what was bothering him?"

"No," she said guilt crawling its way into her voice. "I didn't want to pressure him."

"We'll then I'm sure he'll tell you when he's ready," Tonks said confidently.

"But what if he wants to break up with me?" Hannah asked desperately.

"Did he give any sign at all that he wants to break up with you?"

"No, but-"

"But nothing! You're paranoid, and that's not good! You have to calm down and think things through!" Tonks said in a final voice that left no room for argument. "Come on." She made Hannah sit on the steps besides her and took her into her arms rocking her back and forth.

"You're a great girl Han, and if Ed doesn't appreciate that he doesn't deserve you! But I'm sure he douse, and I'm sure he'll come around. All couples have periods like this, I'm sure you know."

"I don't actually, I usually dumped my boyfriends when they get to this stage," she admitted a little embarrassed.

Tonks glared at her, which had little effect seeing as the other girls couldn't actually see her face. "Then this should be a valuable lesson to you," she chastised. "You shouldn't leave someone when he's in need of support. That's just rude!"

"I know, I just thought that there was nothing I could do since the guy didn't wanna talk to me, so I'd give him some time off."

"Did you ever stop to think that perhaps that's what Edward needs right now?"

"No, I… I was so selfish," she suddenly sat up straight startling Tonks. "Pan, you're right! Maybe all that Edward needs is a little time off, and I've been making it hard on him chasing him around everywhere. Oh, I can't believe I was so stupid!"

"Now, now, let's calm down," Tonks suggested.

"Calm down! That's right, all I need is to calm down, and start thinking straight." She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths trying to relax her tense muscles. Her face visibly softened and she slowly opened her eyes to give Tonks a dazzling smile. "Thanks Pan. You're a real friend."

"Don't mention it," Tonks returned the smile.

"I need to go take a walk outside and clear my head, wanna come?"

"Sorry, can't. Halloween's coming up," Tonks said apologetically.

"Are you planning something?" Hannah asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, but I can't tell you what!"

"No?"

"No!"

"K." Hannah sighed and climbed down the stairs. "I'll see you later."

"Oh, Han! I almost forgot; do you know where the Ravenclaw common room is?"

"Yeah, it's on the 5th floor, the door closest to the spiral staircase, a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle guards the entrance. Why?"

"Herms and Luna wouldn't tell me," Tonks answered. "How do you know?"

Hannah smiled mischievously at her and said "I have my ways."

"Well then," Tonks pressed her luck. "Do you happen to know the password?"

"They don't have one," Hannah said to Tonks' surprise.

"They don't?"

"No, the eagle asks you a riddle and you have to solve it in order to get in."

"Oh… thanks."

"No problem." Hannah turned and left the castle leaving a rather confused Tonks behind.

_Great!_ She thought. _Just great! How are we supposed to get in now?_

-------

Edward was currently hiding in the one place he deemed safe enough to disappear from the rest of the world: The Hogwarts Library. That was the only place his fan girls never thought of looking for him, and luckily enough Hannah too didn't think of looking for him here. He was feeling horrible for avoiding her like this, but the last month had been pure torture. Every freaking time he would look at her it was like someone had flipped her insides out, not to mention the fact that he could smell her blood from afar and that she was the person he wanted to rip into tiny bits the most. Oh, he remembered dang well (though he wished he didn't), that the day he became a vampire, the first people he went after were his loved ones. His mother, his father, brother, but first, his girlfriend, those had been his primary victims. All that was left of them were memories; memories he would rather forget happened, they had come back to haunt his night and make him curse the day he regained them.

"Edward!"

He sat up with a start looking wildly around. His glare landed on Hermione's worried face.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah! Yeah! I'm…I'm fine," he answered still a little shaken. "You startled me."

"_Me_ startle _you_," she asked indignantly and took the seat next to him. "It was _you_ who looked like someone had dyed. Did something happen?"

"No, everything's fine."

"Edward! How stupid do you think I am?" She scowled at him.

"I actually consider you to be one of the brightest people I have ever met, if you must know," Edward said.

"I'm glad you think that," Hermione said a bit embarrassed. "Then you should have realized that I'm not so easily fooled! I know something's wrong. Why don't you tell me what's the matter and we can solve it together?"

Edward sighed in resignation and told her about the dreams.

"They're just dream!" Hermione protested.

"They're not pleasant ones," Edwards said. "I haven't had a good night sleep in over a month." He rubbed at his puffy red eyes where dark circles had begun to take shape.

Hermione gave him a sympathetic look. "Have you tried dreamless sleep potion?"

"Where am I going to get my hands on one of those?" he asked frustrated.

"We can brew some," Hermione suggested.

"_Dreamless sleep potion_?" Edward said doubtfully. "Hermione do you even _know_ how many ingredients that thing needs? Ingredients that we don't _have_!"

"Hey, I was only trying to help!" She snapped.

"I know, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm just a little frustrated. I haven't really been myself lately."

"That's why I think you need some dreamless sleep potion!"

"But where are we gonna find ingredients for that?" he asked exasperatedly.

"We can order them by owl post, or buy them from Hogsmead," Hermione suggested.

"Hogsmead?"

"Yes, we can sneak into Hogsmead with the Marauders map."

"You know, I forgot about that," Edwards said, his voice brighter then before.

"Ah, men," Hermione sighed in a disappointed voice. "They can be so dumb most of the times."

"Hey!" Edward sent her a death glare. Hermione tried to muffle her laughter with her palms.

"Well it's true!"

"Just this once," Edward stubbornly stated.

"Ok," Hermione conceded, "then let's go and find a book that tells us how to brew it. I'm sure it's not in the Restricted Section." Edward nodded and sat up looking much better then he had in weeks.

-------

Draco was currently in one of those corridors that they never wander, searching for Harry. He had absolutely no idea why he felt the need to talk to him; truth be told, he was a bit surprised about this himself, he normally didn't share his burden with anyone, but ever since he got here, he felt…different somehow. He didn't actually know why, he was after all still a pure-blood, still a Slytherin, still pretending and interacting with people he didn't like just to get into their circle of trust, it wasn't that much different then it was at home. But here he didn't feel quite as alone as there. He had friends who backed him up most of the time; he had Hermione who for some reason didn't seem like the annoying little mudblood he used to know, and Harry of course who was always pestering Draco to tell him what was wrong, he could blame it on him.

Yes, now that he thought about it, he _could_ blame it on that annoying Rowling! He was the one always pestering him to say what was on his mind, it was only natural that Draco got used to talking with him.

He turned a corner still mussing over the matter when he heard voices coming from somewhere nearby. He strained his ears to locate the source of the voices and followed it towards a class room somewhere to his left. The voices were still muffled by the door so he couldn't make out who it was. Curiosity got the best of him and he cracked the door open.

Inside, at the front of the class, stood a very beautiful young lady with brown hair and eyes. She was dressed (if possible), in an even more ridiculous outfit then Dumbledore always was, what with the pink plover and neon green pants. Riddle and Rowling were standing a few strides away, laughing at a floating object (ink bottle).

"Great job Danny," the woman clapped enthusiastically. "Now try to make it bounce around a bit."

Harry narrowed his eyes in concentration and a few moments later the ink bottle started bouncing up and down.

"Very good, very good" She clapped again. "Tommy, your turn." Draco jaw hit the floor when he heard the young lady talk that way to Riddle, and his eyes widened comically when all the boy did was nod his head and proceeded to wandlessly levitate a chair.

"Show off!" Harry muttered.

"This is nothing," Riddle smirked arrogantly. "Remember Richard's class today?"

"Oh, yeah," Harry nodded. "You nearly ran him over with that desk."

"I would have too if you wouldn't of been in the way!"

"I still can't believe that you two can give Richard such a hard time," the girl said bewildered. "He's a legend you know, among us Aurors. He's caught more wrongdoers then all of us put together."

"Well he's mighty week for a legend," Riddle pursed his lips. "I think he should go back to dueling club."

The girl sent Tom a disapproving glare.

"You're just mad that you haven't beaten him since the first time," Harry taunted. "He really is good."

"He is…entertaining," Riddle said after some time.

Draco was glaring at the two boys, he could not believe it. Those two sitting in the same room without hexes flying left and right came as a surprise to him. True, they haven't been fighting nearly as much as before ever since Dipped moved them to the advanced classes, but this was ridiculous.

"He likes talking about you two a lot. The whole Auror department has heard of you," the girl told them.

"What exactly douse he say about us?" Harry asked curiously.

_Us? US?!_ Since when did _me and that guy_ become _us_? Draco thought.

"He probably ran out of interesting stories to tell and decided to entertain his fellow comrades with news about his near-death-experiences while fighting a pair of first years. I would be ashamed," Riddle shock his head faking disappointment, but he had a large grin spread on his face. Harry elbowed him in the ribs but couldn't stop laughing.

"Tom," the girl tried to glare at him but failed miserably as her face contorted into something between a smile and a grimace.

Now Draco was furious. Harry was _his_ best friend! He was supposed to be _here_ listening to _his _problems, not _there_ laughing with _Riddle_! He couldn't stand to listen to this merry-go-round talk anymore and left.

He had started running without realizing, hoping to get as far away as possible from the class room as he could. He actually though he wasn't alone anymore that was laughable! They didn't care about him, none of them did! George and Sirius had shown their discontent with him from the start, Luna had found herself a boyfriends, Tonks was to busy hanging around the Marauders to care, he barely talked to Hannah or Hermione anymore, and Harry…Harry had _betrayed him_! He had chosen Riddle over him. And now he felt alone, more alone then he had ever felt.

He unconsciously started running faster and faster, heading to wherever his feet would take him and wasn't actually paying attention to where he was going so he didn't see the shape in front of him until it was too late and he walked right into it.

He knocked hard into however was in front of him and fell heavily down on the marble floor. A squeak of horror came from the person he had bumped into and a sickening thump followed a few moments later.

Draco slowly lifted himself off the floor rubbing at his injured ribs. He took one look in front of him and panicked. He was standing outside the entrance to the spiral staircase! He hurried outside to see who was the person he had bumped into. A feeling of dread spread through him when he didn't see anyone, not even the spiral steps that lead to the lower floor had arrived yet. Panic started rushing through him and his breathing quickened to a pant as he willed himself to look downstairs.

_There _on the ground floor, surrounded by a crowd of student, spread on the flat surface like an advertising poster stood none other then Demeter Greengrass. His left leg was position at a sickening angle and blood was poring freely from his broken scull.


	17. Chapter 16: Halloween

**Chapter 16: Halloween**

Draco ran.

What else was he supposed to do? Sit there and wait for the teachers to find him? That was not an option. He ran all the way to the Room of Requirement and locked himself in.

His breathing was erratic, and his thoughts were spinning in a million directions. On one hand, an overwhelming sense of relief flooded his veins at the thought that he had finally managed to land Demeter in the hospital (_there was no way he would escape this time_), it meant that most of his problems were gone! Hyperion would have no reason to kill the boy, now that he had, in a way of speaking, got his revenge. That soul thought was enough to soothe his worries. On the other hand, there was the small detail that Demeter looked a little _dead_ when he had left him (_now __that__ would be ironic, saving him from Hyperion by killing him_), but for some reason Draco didn't want to believe that was the case, he didn't know if he was in denial, but he just wouldn't believe that a five floor fall would kill a child that fat.

_Wait a second_…five_ floors_? Draco's heart stopped dead in his throat. He didn't know why but he was under the impression that it had only been_ three_ floors not _five_. But now that he thought better of it, he hadn't gone down any steps, and he clearly remembered Harry whining about having to climb five floors to get to classes on Saturday…

As much as his brain refused to accept the fact, the idea circled around his mind like mad: _a five floor fall __would__ kill most people_!

_I killed him_…

An armchair materialized behind him and he dropped numbly in it.

_I killed him._

_NO!_ His mind shouted furiously. _This is __not__ happening to me! This__ can't__ be happening to me! Not after everything that I've gone through, fate __can't__ bee that cruel!_ His mind stubbornly refused to accept the idea; there was no way it would, no way _he_ would; not after his parents death, not after Ginny's death, not after those freaking long months in Azkaban, this was _not_ happening to him! It _couldn't _be happening to him!

He desperately tried to calm down, to _will_ himself to calm down. He completely wanted to forget about the whole incident.

_Yes, that would do. Forget, forget that it ever happened_. _Try thinking about something else, like Luna_…that was not a very good idea seeing as Luna was Demeter's girlfriend, and thinking about her inevitably meant thinking about Demeter, and it was her bloody fault that he was in his mess_! Yes, it __was__ her fault!_ She didn't give a dang about Demeter, so _why_ did she start dating him? If she hadn't of done that,_ he_ wouldn't of been in this position to begin with. _He wouldn't of ki…_

_No, NO! _ His mind told him firmly. _That's not the way to handle things, __calm down__! You __have__ to calm down!_ _Think about something else, something entirely different, like… Harry! Yes, Harry_, _that was a good subject!_

Harry. Oh, how he hated him just about now! The annoying insect had first crawled it's way under his skin and made him believe he wasn't alone, he made him believe he had _friends_ (_who needs them_), only to prove that he was every bit of the annoying, obnoxious, selfish, stupid, hateful little _brat_ he always thought he was. He couldn't believe how easily that kid changed sides, for Merlin's sakes! One month he was fighting with Riddle like mad, and not even McGonagall had managed to calm him down, and now he was all best buds with the person who _supposedly_ killed his parents..._would_ kill his parents; _anyway_, the point was that was not how you do things! _You're friends with someone for life! And your enemies are for life too!_ That's how he believed it to be! Then again, he didn't know why he was so surprised; after all, Rowling had been quite friendly with_ him_ ever since they came here, and they had their disagreements at Hogwarts, although they were less violent then the ones with Riddle.

_It was __his__ fault! Yes, everything __was__ Harry's fault! It was __Harry's__ fault that I was wandering those blasted corridors, __Harry's__ fault that I wasn't looking where I was going, __Harry'__s fault that I killed De…_

_STOP_! His mind screamed viciously at him, _stop! You can't think like this! _He breathed heavily in an attempt to calm himself. _Don't__ think like this! Don't think like this! Don't think like this! __Don't__ think about it! Try to relax, and __not think__ at all!_

He tried, but he couldn't. He tried pacing around, that only made his mind work faster and spin dangerously close to the subject he so desperately wanted to avoid; he tried sleeping (_yeah, right, try sleeping while you're haunted by nightmares_), he tried sitting on his head (_it was worth a try!_), then when he reached his last straw he banged his head against the wall as hard as he could, which only earned him a mind blowing headache. He pressed his palms on his head and started rubbing the spot viciously. His teeth sank sharply in his lover lip and tried to bite out the scream of pain that was threatening to escape him.

_It hurts damn it! It hurts…_

And the memory was back, his vulnerable mind not being able to contain it any longer. He watched helplessly as Demeter's broken body appeared suddenly on the ground, his skull cracked open, blood running freely from the recent wound, his leg hanging in a strange angle, broken, his eyes, dead, as if the killing curse itself has stolen his soul; and suddenly the eyes were blue rather then brown, and the hair was vivid red and long rather then short, and the body was slim and tall, rather then fat and tiny, and suddenly Ginny's dead body was lying on the floor rather then Demeter's…and suddenly, he was crying.

He fell on the cold floor and wrapped himself into a ball, trying desperately to not fall apart, to not crumble under the weight that his small and fragile soul was destined to bear. The tears were flooding freely down his flushed face; like a broken damp they would not stop poring after being contained for so long. He cried for Ginny, he cried for his parents, he cried for himself, and he cried for Demeter as well.

-------

Draco didn't know how long he had been sitting on the marble floor, he couldn't bring himself to care, but when he did get up, his back was stiff and his eye felt heavy. All he wanted to do was lye down and rest; forget that today ever happened, and he was confident he could, for a few hours at least.

A bed materialized itself in the middle of the room and Draco dropped tiredly onto it, not bothering to take off his clothes or care about the rest of the world.

-------

Harry was pacing outside the Slytherin common room. He had just returned from diner and had finally noticed his blond companion's absence. He hadn't thought much about it at lunch, Draco usually skipped it to go and stalk Demeter Greengrass (quite an unhealthy habit in his opinion), though he would normally hunt Harry down and brag about what a horrible day he had, by now; but the annoying blond was nowhere in sight and that unnerved Harry quite a bit, well, that and the feeling he couldn't shake of that something bad happened to the other boy.

"Abraxas!" He spotted the youngest of the Malfoy heirs and rushed towards him. "Have you see Draco?"

Abraxas, as per usual, was clueless when it came to anything other then his father, Harry some times doubted he was remotely related to the Malfoy family (or to Draco for the mater), so he hurried past the blond as soon as the word "N" ran out of his mouth.

He exited the dungeons and darted for the Great Hall, thinking he might have missed the blond in his rush to leave.

There were only a few students left, and only Hyperion's gang was occupying the Slytherin table. Harry made his way towards him, knowing that Hyperion, unlike his younger brother, caught wind of anything that happened at Hogwarts faster then the Headmaster himself.

Hyperion was surrounded by the usual group Harry so loved to despise. There was Orion Black on his left, a nasty third year, who had a charming smile and an innocent baby-like face (contrary to his character that was anything but); he liked taunting and playing nasty pranks on people (the ones that usually earned you one week in the hospital wing); he looked a lot like Regulus, Sirius's younger brother (something that Harry was grateful for), and he had a visible crush on Virginia Parkinson (something that didn't sit to well with Harry).

Crabbe and Goyle were sitting across from Hyperion, both on either side of Quentin Nott, all three as thick as a bush, looking dumbly from one side to another. Nott however had a bad temper that always chose to explode at the wrong time, he had set a new record for the number of detentions a student could receive every year, and he wasn't far from passing it again.

On his right was Stuwey Griffin, considered by all to be the most vile and diabolical person they had ever met; everyone thought he would become a Dark Lord after graduation; from what Harry knew, it never happened.

And last was Jane Seymour, Hyperion's girlfriend which was sitting comfortably in his lap talking to Stuwey.

"Harry!" She cried the moment she saw him. She jumped out of Hyperion's lap and rushed towards him, enveloping him in a bone crushing hug.

Hyperion rolled his eyes at her and said in an amused voice: "I hope you're not planning on stealing my girlfriend, Rowling." The other Slytherins started sniggering.

Jane turned to scowl at them and then kissed Harry on the cheek. "Don't listen to them; they're just jealous they're not as cute." She turned towards Hyperion and asked. "Did you invite him to the New Years party?"

"It's October for Salazar's sake woman," Hyperion protested.

"Yes, he did," Harry cut in. "I'll be there."

"Really?" Jane asked enthusiastically.

"Yes. Hyperion, have you seen Draco at all today?" he asked before Jane could fuss over him any longer.

"Oh," a wide smirk spread on Hyperion's pointed face. "He was…tying up some loose ends, nothing serious, you should go and wait for him in the common room, I'm sure he won't be long."

The mischievous glee that sparked in his eyes and the pleasant but at the same time devilish tone in his voice told Harry that something was definitely wrong.

"And what, if I may inquire, are those loose ends?" Harry asked with a slightly raised bow. If possible Hyperion's smirk widened and the look in his eyes turned to one of pure delight.

"Demeter Greengrass of course," he said in a silky voice and the group of Slytherins besides him started sniggering nastily. Harry's face contorted into something akin to a grimace and a puzzled glare. _What could Draco have done to Demeter?_

"Aham," Jane cleared her voice and sent Hyperion a pointed look as a sign that she was _not _happy with the information he was randomly handing out to her protégé.

Hyperion sighed slightly. It was commonly know that most of the girls in Slytherin consider Harry to be the cutest thing to walk the market since the Easter bunny, what with his green eyes and messy black hair, it was suicide to try and piss the boy off, _especially _in front of Jane.

"What happened to Demeter?" Harry asked.

"Noting serious," Hyperion assured in a dismissive tone. "He'll be fine by Tuesday."

Harry nodded stiffly and tried to keep a straight face as he made his way towards the double doors. No sooner that he was out the door did his mask crumble into an outright grimace. It seemed that Draco had finally managed to get to Demeter, and that was not a good sign in his opinion. Harry made his way towards the marble stair case.

------

"Ah, this one's useless too," Hermione sighed and slammed shut another large book. She was currently in the Potion section of the library together with Edward trying desperately to find a book that would tell them how to brew dreamless sleep potion, but up until now they had no luck at all. "Why is it so difficult to find a bloody potion?!" She whined.

"Maybe, because it's one of the most powerful and addicting potions in existence?" Edward said sarcastically.

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione confused. Edward handed her the book he was reading which was entitled _Practical Potions and What You Didn't Know About Them_ by Albert Francis.

Hermione scanned the page. "Hmm, one of the most commonly used potions…can become addicting if used in excess, mm hmm…death caused by addiction to sleeping potion reaches _up to __40%__ a year_?! Are these guys serious?!"

"It seems so," Edward stated grimly. "It's like a drug. It doesn't matter if you keep the estimated time between doses, you _will_, in the end, become accustomed to taking it in the specific amount of time, and it says that addicts become extremely violent when and _if_ they decided to quit. As far as I'm concerned the cons surpass the pros."

"I see…" Hermione sat the book down and mentally sighed. "I can't believe I didn't think of this! Even muggle sleeping pills have side effects it was only natural that its wizarding counterpart would have some too."

"It's a mistake most people would make. But coming from you, it is rather odd," Edward said a slightly amused.

Hermione sent him a pointed glare. "Well I don't see you coming up with anything better!"

"Maybe it's because I'm tired," Edward mussed. "I mean, heck, I've lived so many lives and most of them _were_ pleasant, but… maybe I'm tired of it all, maybe I just want to curl up in a place and die already, end it all, you know."

"I don't," said Hermione. "But I think that's dumb!"

"Why so?"

"You're giving up to easily, that's not a Hufflepuff's way of thinking," she scolded.

"I would prefer thinking about it as resigning myself to the flow of life," Edward said philosophically.

"And I'd prefer calling it a lame excuse to just give up," Hermione shot back.

"Well you are a Gryffindor at heart; it's only natural that you would think like that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hmm," Edward began chewing his lower lip, a pensive expression made its way across his face. "Think about it this way, the traits that are requited to be admitted into Gryffindor house would be bravery and chivalry, though, if you would excuse me for saying, it is commonly known that Gryffindors have a rather stubborn nature to their personality. That stubborn part of your character would naturally describe you as a person who rarely gives up on a matter and is also unfaltering in their beliefs; therefore you would consider a person that is resigned to life, or one that just takes it as it comes as being to much of a coward to fight against the abstract shape that we describe as fate, unlike us Hufflepuffs who, indifferent of how loyal we are to a cause, can tolerant and learn to accept certain things just as they are."

"The chivalrous side of our personality would theoretically make us see no shades of gray in the world," Hermione said in a sweet voice. "And it is best that you remember I am no Gryffindor," she added tauntingly.

"No, you're speaking more like a Slytherin now," Edward said slightly amused.

"Draco's been a bad influence on me," Hermione said as a cheeky smile spread widely on her pretty face.

"Indeed he has," Edward conceded. They stood like that, studying each other for a long time, up until a spark of something lit up Hermione's eyes which made her jump to her feat and dash behind a book shelf.

"Herms, what's wrong?" Edward asked while rising to his feet and rushing after her.

"I just got another idea on how to solve your sleeping problems," Hermione said excited. "I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner. Oh, how could I be so thick?"

"No need to rush, I'm not dead yet," Edward teased earning himself a glare from Hermione. "Sorry," he apologized.

Hermione rushed down the line of books while occasionally stopping to check a title or two up until she reached the Divination section and growled: "This has no business here!" She picked up an old, shabby book that was called _The Human Character, Magical Theories on Memory Study and the Concept of Dreams _by Angelica Dawson.

"It's something similar to muggle philosophy. Most wizards don't really study things such as this. It's a shame really; I mean it talks about the concept of one's dreams and the study of someone's character!"

"It does sound like an interesting subject," Edward agreed, "but, if wizards really wanted to study someone's character they would study Legilimency and Occlumency instead," he pointed out.

"That's not the same," Hermione insisted. "That's like cheating on a test by looking inside the teacher's head! Its fowl play!"

"And there was your Gryffindor character springing to life again," Edward teased. "You seriously can't deny the fact that you have some of the Lion's traits within you."

"If you must know, I consider this whole sorting in conformation to one's character a load of bull! I mean, the hat only takes in consideration the predominant aspects of one's personality not_ all_ of them. Who's to say that a Slytherin can't be brave, or a Gryffindor can't be smart, or so on; it's something akin to muggle racism, if you ask me, only there to create a bigger gap between the pure-blood families and the rest!" She finished in an irate voice. She slammed her book on the first table she could find and began reading.

"Can't disagree with you there." Edward took a seat on her right. "So, what exactly are we looking for?"

"Shush," Hermione snapped and turned another page. "Here it is," she proudly announced.

Edward snuggled closer to study the page but soon found out that was a _big_ mistake. The sent of Hermione's blood flooded his nostrils and nearly made him choke on the intoxicating smell.

"It's called hypnosis," Hermione said seemingly oblivious to his discomfort. She pointed with her left arm at the paragraph she was reading and placed her right arm on Edwards shoulder, stirred in her seat so that she was partial facing him, her head tilted slightly to look at the book leaving her bare neck fully exposed to Edward.

"Muggle psychiatrists use this method to solve a lot of the mental problems that patients have, like for example if there's something you've forgotten or something you don't want to remember or bad dreams you've been having and stuff like that, some even joke around that it can help you uncover your past lives," she laughed slightly. "This method is normally based on the fact that the human brain memorizes every single detail that happened in a person's life, the brain douse not lose the information; it simply becomes foreshadowed by things that you consider to be more important at the time."

Edward didn't really catch anything that Hermione was saying, _no_, the only thing that was ringing in his ears at the time was the soft thump of her heart beet, the slight almost unnoticeable noise of her breathing, the soft flow of blood rushing through her veins, that delicious and irresistible substance that made him edge closer and closer to her. He could feel it. He lifted his head slightly and saw it clearly pumping through her vein agonizingly slow, coming closer and closer.

"Edward, what are you doing?" Hermione's wary voice made him snap his head towards her. He lifted his eyes just to come straight in contact with hers; she was so close, the tips of their noses were almost touching.

An evil like smirk made its way down Edward's charming face which made Hermione recoil backwards in fright, diminishing the sense of her exhilarating smell.

_So this silly little mortal thinks she knows a thing about Hypnosis? That is laughable!_ Edwards's eyes flashed a vivid shade of red and Hermione's eyes slowly began to lose focus, they became cloudy, distant and she slowly started edging back towards him.

_Yes, that's right, come to me child_, he heard a little voice in his mind whisper in a soft purr. The sent of her blood flooded his nostrils once more and he moved closer towards the slow pumping vein of her neck. He licked his lips in anticipation as he slowly dragged his index finger over the exposed area. He could feel the smooth and thick liquid flood underneath his fingers that drove him mad with want. He moved his hand to the other side of her neck taking a firm grip of it then brought his lips on the soft surface of her skin kissing it slightly.

As soon as he made contact with the pulsing vein he snapped his eyes open and jumped backwards falling of his chair and landing unceremoniously on the concrete floor. Hermione soon snapped out of her daze and looked around baffled. Edward jumped to his feet, breathing heavily and looked nervously at Hermione, inspecting her for any damage he might have caused. He visibly relaxed when he saw no bite marks on her neck, but paled dramatically when his eyes landed on the girls shocked face.

"You…you tried to, bite me?" Hermione asked in a shaky voice, bringing her hands protectively around her exposed neck.

"I…" Edward didn't really know what to say. The truth was that he _had_ tried to bit her, and by Merlin he nearly succeeded. "I'm sorry," he blurred out and made to run for the exit.

"Hold it right there, you!" Hermione snapped startling the boy. "You get that lying ass of yours right here and explain what happened, or else…" she hissed in a venomous voice that sent shivers down Edwards's spine.

Edward took a few deep breaths before slowly turning around and dropping stiffly in the chair across from Hermione.

The expression carved on the girl's face reminded him clearly of why the other kids feared her and the blond demon (Luna that is). He futilely tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat and after the sharp glare the girls sent his way began talking about the other problem he most of the times pretended he didn't have.

"You're and idiot," Hermione stated when he finished.

"I'm sorry," he said lowering his eyes to the ground.

"What if you attacked someone?"

"I've been avoiding people for mainly that reason," Edward stated.

"Stupid Hufflepuffs and your stupid way of thinking, that's why everyone calls you the house of cowards!"

"Hey!" Edward seemed ready to protest but a warning glare and a sharp "Quiet!" from the other girl made him snap his mouth shut. A pregnant silence which seemed to drag on forever settled between the two. Edward fidget in his seat, desperately wishing that the girls would say something, that she would snap and get this over and done with, but what came out of her mouth took him by surprise.

"This thing can't be normal," Hermione muttered. "You're not a vampire, so even if you've regained your past memories you shouldn't have these problems. It doesn't make any sense!" She unknowingly started twirling one long curl of hair around her fingers, her expression twitched in a glare of furious concentration and her leg started tapping impatiently.

"Unless," she whispered softly. "Unless you're just imagining it!" She blurred out her face lightened up with that insane spark as if she had just unraveled the secrets of the universe.

"Ed, think back on when this all started," she ordered. Edward nodded uncertain. "Did it start around the same time when you got your memories back?"

"Not really," Edward shock his head. "It started in September, a good four months after I regained my memories, when I had my first dream of my past as a vampire."

"So, it started at the same time as your dreams," Edward nodded. "That's it!" She said excited.

"What is?" Edward asked uncertain.

"Your dreams Edward," Hermione said impatiently. "They're the ones that are causing you to have these urges for blood. Don't you see? It's impossible for a human to want to feed on blood like a vampire that just doesn't make any sense! But," She lifted the book _The Human Character, Magical Theories on Memory Study and the Concept of Dreams _and said: "If your brain, is _positively convinced_ that you are lusting for blood, then it will send a message to all your senses and make you actually _believe_ you want blood when you actually _don't_, because the brain controls every action you take, _everything_ you do, _everything_ you _believe in_ is registered in the brain! _Understand_?"

"So, what you're trying to say is, I only _think_ I want blood, because my brain is telling me I want it, but I actually don't." Hermione nodded vigorously. "And this is happening because my brain is _confused_ because of the dreams I have at night were I am a vampire?"

"Yes," Hermione said this with such conviction that even Edward started to believe the crazy idea.

"So how do I get rid of it?" Edward asked eagerly.

Hermione lifted the book again and said "Hypnosis!"

-----

Draco awoke with a start at the sound of a buzzing noise. He angrily started roaming through his pockets and pulled out the annoying notebook that Hermione had given them.

_Great, just great_, he thought. He had barely managed to close his eyes, his tired brain much to exhausted to irk him with guilt for what he did to Demeter, and was definitely not pleased with who ever thought that one in the morning was a good hour to contact someone. He hoped it wasn't another bloody meeting, he couldn't stand going to one in his current condition.

He glared at the still piece of paper and contemplated on whether to open it or not. He decided he better get it over with since it was clear that the blasted thing wouldn't stop ringing otherwise.

Inside the notebook, written on the very first page, was something that managed to shock him to the core and at the same time lift an immeasurable weight off his shoulders. One line, just that one line:

_Harry: Demeter's alright!_

Draco was stuck staring at the piece of paper long after the writing was gone. His mind knew perfectly well what that meant, but his brain couldn't actually process anything at the moment; he was stuck in a sort of numb shock mixed with an ecstatic sense of relief.

After what seamed like ages, his brain finally started working properly and a blissful smile made his way on Draco's pointed face; then he fainted, off into a profound and much deserved dreamless sleep.

------

The next morning Edward awoke feeling much better then he had in years. He had not believed that stupid theory about hypnosis would work for even and instant, but it actually _did_! He had slept sound as a baby, no stupid dreams to disturb him, no nothing! He wanted to laugh, and that's exactly what he did. He went through his morning routine with a huge smile carved on his face and saluted everyone he encountered in the common room and when he finally laid eyes on Hannah and saw her looking more charming then she had in days, with no cuts or scratches or god only knows what other horrific images his mind would have presented to him, he couldn't contain himself. He ran towards her, enveloped her in an iron hug and kissed her passionately not giving a damn about the other people that were present in the common room.

"Edward! What the hell's gotten into you," Hannah whined when he finally let go of her.

"Nothing, just thought you looked absolutely dazzling today," he said and kissed her softly. Hannah giggled in the kiss and swung her arms around him.

"Well someone's in a good mood," she teased.

"You have no idea," he said and buried his head in her shoulders, glad to be inhaling her wonderful lilac sent rather then the sickening smell of blood.

Tonks was smiling broadly at her two Hufflepuff friends; she hadn't doubted for a second that those two would sold their problems eventually and when Hannah turned her head to give her a confused but happy smile she grinned reassuringly at her.

The morning seemed to be just as ordinary as any other for the kids in all the houses, the sun was unusually bright for the end of October, but the kids weren't complaining; being Sunday of the first Quidditch trials everyone was up and at 'em at 10:00 sharp and ready to go down to the Great Hall and enjoy a quiet breakfast. The only problem was, the doors didn't want to open.

"Excuse me," Dippet said and the crowd parted to let the Headmaster through. "What seems to be the problem?"

"It's the door, sir," a boy from the front of the crowd answered. "It won't open!"

Dipped turned to scrutinize the seemingly innocent door and grabbed the handle. It turned. It opened. And Dipped soon wished it didn't.

On the other side of the door, waiting to be unleashed upon the masses of students, was a gigantic, dragon looking, smoke spiting…_something_, that charged head on at Dipped and the children, and unfortunately that was not all that came out of the mysteriously locked Great Hall, far from it: human sized pumpkins that were laughing maniacally and animated skeletons whose teeth were clenching and unclenching like a broken record along side a few more battalions of tiny flying dragons came soaring towards them. A choir of shouts escaped the student body at the sight of the attackers and they spun on their heels and began running madly in all directions possible, trying desperately to avoid any of the walking monstrosities. Dipped himself was engaged in and all out war with the gigantic dragon like creature that circled the hallway a few times then darted up the marble staircases. Most of the students were lead by their heads of house towards their common room, but soon found out that that wasn't a safe place to be at all.

The Hufflepuff common room was crowded with plant-like, paper-made _things_ that exploded whenever you touched them. The Ravenclaw common room was cramped with bouncing bottles of ink (that were as soft as bubbles), sets of parchments (that seemed to be made out of rubber), and quills that were flying madly towards the students and viciously chasing those who tried to run away. The Gryffindor common room was filled with what they later found out to be fireworks that blew up in Dumbledore's face the moment the portrait swung open. And the Slytherin common room was filled with snake like creatures that hissed and crawled on the students, and when they finally had them in their grasp, they'd deflate like balloons and start yelling rude words at them.

Those unfortunate enough to try to hide in the classrooms were either engulfed in a slimy substance that dragged you in the harder you struggled just like quicksand, or they would enter a fog of darkness were they wouldn't be able to see two inches in front of them; in short terms, the library, the Headmaster's office, the hospital wing and probably the kitchen were the only safe places left in the entire castle.

The teachers spent most of the day fighting off the nasty little buggers that had been released from the Great Hall and trying to free the students from classes or the common rooms. Dipped chased after the enormous dragon up until it reached the top floor, and had a spectacular duel with it on top of the Astronomy tower where the impressive beast surrendered to the supreme might of the current Headmaster, but Dipped didn't go down unscratched, no, far from it, the gigantic monster chose to make it's downfall memorable and blew up in the Headmaster's face and nearly managed to throw him off the roof.

Near night fall, when most of the booby traps had burned out, and all the students and teachers were assembled in the front of the castle, the remaining flying little monsters flew outside and colored the sky in a shower of firework, each opening up and forming a gigantic Happy Halloween on the night sky.

Despite their fright and exhaustion the kids clapped and cheered enthusiastically when the firework started, as did most of the teachers and the Headmaster.

------

**AN**: Happy Halloween!! May you receive lots of sweets!


	18. Chapter 17: Winter Holidays

**Chapter 17: Winter Holidays**

Christmas break had finally arrived. The students were merrily chatting and enjoying the end of the first semester and eagerly awaiting the following day when they would journey back to London on the Hogwarts Express.

Our heroes were currently in the Room of Requirement (shaped as the Ravenclaw common room), discussing a very important issue regarding the winter holidays.

"You're staying at Hogwarts?" asked Harry.

"That's right mate," answered George.

"But, why?" asked Hannah.

"Because Riddle's staying to, and we figured it would be best that someone staid and kept an eye on him, and you know, since we _are_ his friends, it would only be natural to want to stay with him and keep him company," said Sirius.

"They're right," agreed Hermione. "We can't let Riddle out of our sight, not when things are going so well! We have to make sure he doesn't ever come across the idea of becoming a dark lord!"

"Yeah, Herms, we know that," George assured. "Why do you think we're here for? But I don't think Tom'll be turning dark any time soon, he seems quite content with playing pranks for now."

"Yeah, you can leave Tom to us," Tonks said with a huge grin on her face.

"What about the Malfoy's New Year's Party?" Luna asked.

"That's what worries me the most," Hermione admitted. "But I'd like to wait until we return home and discuss it with Miss Muller before we make any plans."

"I agree with that," Sirius said. "You write us a message, or send us an owl with what you're planning." Hermione nodded.

"Ok, guys," George leaped to his feet. "We have a meeting with Tom in half an hour, send my regards to Minerva and don't forget my Christmas present!"

------

And they were off! The train hurried out of the station and sprinted across the now snow covered grounds like a rocket flying towards the moon.

Draco was damn glad to leave the blasted and yet strangely enchanting castle behind and barricade himself in a compartment alongside Harry and Hermione (Hannah, Edward, Luna and Demeter were in another compartment).

"Finally this accursed semester is over," Hermione said merrily.

"You're… _happy_… that it ended?" Draco asked slightly perplexed, it was after all a miracle that his bushy haired friend was glad for once that school was over, like any other normal kid.

"You remember my Charms essay?" She asked slightly pink in the face.

Draco burst out laughing and said: "Oh, yeah, I'm gonna remember that for as long as I live." Hermione glared furiously at him, her lips shrewd in a thin line and her cheeks flashed a vivid red color that would have made Ron proud.

"I didn't think it was _that_ bad," said Harry in her defense. "Remember my dueling match with Richard?"

Both Hermione and Draco started laughing. "I can't believe you actually did that to a full trained Auror," Hermione shock her head disapprovingly.

"Hey! He was the one who tried to hang me upside down, it was only naturally that I retaliate and chick him in the gut!"

"It was still fowl play! You don't do that sort of thing in wizards duel," she chastised.

"But man that Auror was though," Draco marveled. "Standing up to you_ and_ Riddle," he shock his head. "I couldn't have."

"Because you're a coward," Harry joked.

"And you're an annoying little brat," Draco shot back.

"Would you two stop it," sighed Hermione and pulled out a book from her magically enlarged bag.

"Only if you put that book away and start acting like a normal kid for once," Draco said.

Hermione glared furiously at him and shoved the book back in her bag.

"Much better," Draco nodded his consent.

The rest of the train ride went by in a daze, with the three kids gossiping about the teachers, the students, Quidditch (here Harry and Draco had a little fight about who was going to play Seeker for the Slytherin team next year), and mostly anything that came to mind.

It was not long before the train pulled into London station and the trio, linked arm in arm (with Hermione in the middle), made their way towards the barrier and flashed a quick grin in Minerva's direction, who was waiting for Hannah and Luna.

They jumped into the black car and were soon joined by Minerva and the _twins_ and they were off to Muller Manor, the only place the kids considered a safe little piece of heaven among all the masses of fiery hell.

When they were safe inside the Manor, Minerva actually hugged and kissed them on the cheek before a relieved sort of expression made its way on her face.

"I'm so glad you made it back in one piece," Minerva said and beamed proudly at them.

"It's good to see you too miss Muller," Hermione said and smiled broadly at her.

"Good evening young masters, young mistresses," the house elves greeted.

"Is there anything you would like for diner, sirs?" Barney, the house elf chef, asked.

"Anything you cook will be definitely welcomed," Draco assured. "Now if you'll excuse me, my owl has grown tired of its cage."

The kids spent the rest of the day unpacking and settling in, dinner being a quick affair and soon they were off to bed.

-------

The Marauders were glad that the holidays had finally come, they made sure to give the teachers hell the week before to remind them of the approaching festive season, but now they had a problem and that was: try as they might, they couldn't come up with a prank that wouldn't jeopardize their involvement, seeing as Tom was the only student in Slytherin and there were only a few seventh and fifth years left from the other houses that were tutored by the teachers over the holidays.

"But there's got to be a freaking way to pull this off," Sirius whined, but Tom gave him a skeptic look.

"Look around you," he said impatiently. "There's only us and a bunch of OWL or NEWT students, do you honestly think you can pull a prank in these conditions?"

"Maybe we can, I don't know, pin the blame on someone else," George suggested.

"George! That's just mean," Tonks scolded.

"And damn right humiliating," said Sirius. "I'd rather be caught myself then let some incompetent bastard that doesn't know shit about pranks take the credit for _my_ work!"

"And that would go _so_ wrong for _so _many reasons," Tom assured.

"What reasons," George whined. "I seriously don't get it!"

Tom gave a frustrated sight and started rubbing his temple. "Let me explain this to you one last time," he said slowly. "_We_ are surrounded by students that stayed here with a well defined purpose, to study, so naturally the most suspicious of the lot would be _us_. _If_ the teachers do, by some _absurd_ miracle, not suspect us, they would have a very small group of people who could be responsible, us being among them. _So_, naturally, when the seventh years graduate, and the pranks continue, the circle of suspects would be even smaller, and in two years from now, when the pranks go on, _we_ would be the only ones left. It's a slow but _sure_ road towards exposure. If we try to blame someone else, we would be facing the _same_ problem when the pranks continue after the apprehended culprit graduates. Understand?"

George nodded mutely.

"Then what are we going to do over the Holidays?" asked Sirius.

"Research," Tom stated simply. "We have two weeks at our disposure with no homework, no classes, no nothing. We have plenty of time to start developing new products and create that game shop you guys were talking about."

George and Sirius were grinning madly while Tonks looked absolutely delighted by the idea. They nodded in unison and made their way towards the library.

"There's a new charm I've always wanted to try," said George. "You know, the levitating spell, I want to try and make it into a bonbon that lifts you up into the air when you eat it. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Definitely," Sirius assured. "I want to try and see if I can get around to making those anti-owl intercepting potions, you know something like a shield for them."

"That is a splendid idea," commented Tonks. "So in witch common room are we going to stay?"

"I'd say the Slytherin," suggested Tom. "It's empty after all."

"I agree with that," Tonks nodded. "But doesn't it get cold there over the winter?"

"No, it's just the dungeons that are cold, the common room is okay," Tom said.

-------

Christmas holidays at Hogwarts were the best Tom ever had. The Marauders would spend most of the day researching and trying out new inventions and just before dinner they would head out towards the grounds and have a vicious little snow fight with some of their new inventions, and surprisingly most of them worked from the first try. George called it talent while Sirius called it luck, just to piss the other boy, which usually ended in them dragging Tom and Tonks in their fight as well. The other two however learned to pretend they were sick or had a cramp or anything else that would save them from having to accompany their two crazy friends outside.

All in all, Tom could proudly proclaim he was happy with his choice of friends. Sirius and George were like a one-hundred-percent-assurance-towards-a-hell-of-a-good-time, while Tonks was the understanding and carrying friend that everybody could really on anytime and Tom thought he fitted the group nicely, being something like the brains behind the operation (Sirius was the boss, no one doubted that).

The only thing that bothered him was the fact that his friends were the ones who always spent money on his behalf. What he meant was, all three of them bought their own ingredients for their projects and on top of that they always bought those for his as well, something that unnerved Tom quite a lot, he didn't want to feel like he owed someone anything or like he was gaining something on their behalf (something which earned him a shrug and a _so what_ glare from the other three).

Christmas day wasn't any different. He and Tonks (who was to scared to sleep by herself and so ended up sleeping in the first years boys dorms with them), were awoken at 7 o'clock sharp by Sirius and George who were too excited to sleep and dragged to the common room were the Christmas tree that Slughorn had arranged for the Slytherin house was full of presents, and for the first time in his life Tom had present too! Three packages nonetheless! One wrapped in a bubblegum pink color (suspiciously similar to Tonks' hair), and white ribbons, one wrapped in a scarlet package with a gold ribbon, and the last one wrapped in a green package with silver ribbons.

His three friend were smiling broadly at him merrily singing Christmas songs, something which they soon found out would be a full twenty-four-hour marathon, because Tonks refused to do any work (or let them do anything for the matter), the entire day. They took long walks across the lands and enjoyed a much more child-like snow ball fight, the teachers even indulge them a game of Quidditch witch they played with the OWL and NEWTs students and then there was the feast.

Dippet had banished all the tables from the great hall, to make room for only one in the far corner, by the windows and left a magnificently large dance floor for the kids.

Tonks had to literary dragged Tom towards the dance floor the first few times up until he got the hang of _how_ exactly he had to dance. Sirius and George danced together every time Tonks paired up with Tom and were making quite a show of themselves. The celebration went on long into the night and at the end Dippet had the students and staff sing _We wish you a marry Christmas_, before dismissing them off to bed.

Feeling extremely exhausted but at the same time, incredibly pleased with themselves, the Marauders fell into a pleasant slumber accompanied by the tone of Tonks voice murmuring the words of _Silent Night_.

-------

Christmas had been a pleasant affair at Muller Manor. It was nothing nearly as crazy as it would have been had George and Sirius been present, but that hardly meant the kids didn't have a good time on their own.

But with Christmas out of the way came the dreaded moment when the Malfoy New Year party would arrive. Sirius and George had confirmed that Tom would be present at the party, a fact that unnerved most of the kids, so they had made sure to have everything arranged for the party.

"So," Minerva begun, "I would like to know who is going and who is not."

"We are," Draco said an indicated towards him and Harry.

"Us too," said Luna pointing at herself and Hannah.

"I was invited as well," said Hermione.

"Sirius told me none of the Marauders group where invited," Harry said.

"I see," nodded Minerva. "So that meant everyone who is here will be going." The kids gave a curt nod.

"This whole ordeal would have been so much easier had at least one of the Marauders group been invited," Minerva mussed. "The truth is that, none of you have a good enough excuse to be around Riddle, witch means there will be no one there to contain him, he'll be free to wander off wherever he wants and most importantly interact with whoever he wants."

"Line Hyperion Malfoy," Draco said bitterly.

"What's wrong with Hyperion?" Harry asked perplexed.

Draco averted his eyes from the rest, he knew he would be given a long talk in to by the others for keeping things from them, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

"He's a murderer," Luna answered before he could get around to convincing himself to talk.

Minerva looked quizzically at her. "And how, if I may enquire, did you come to that conclusion?"

"Because of his magical aura," Luna stated simply. At the puzzled expressions on the other's faces she snapped. "Oh, come on! Are you wizards or what?! Can you seriously tell me you can't feel the magical aura of a person at all?"

"Of course we can," said Hermione in her defense. "I definitely felt _yours_ that time when you got angry."

"I'm sure you did. Around that time I began noticing the different shapes of a person's aura and it is rather ironic that white and black represent good and evil. There were a whole bunch of shades of gray wherever you looked, but there were those with such a dark shaped aura you could almost confuse it with black. Most of them were Slytherin and all of Hyperion's friends, himself included, had a jet black stained aura; and they sure as hell didn't regret anything by the looks of it."

"Hmm, that is…disturbing to say the least," muttered Minerva. The kids couldn't help but agree. There was just no guarantying that Riddle wouldn't turn dark just because he had friends, Dumbledore had assured them that the small orphan he had encountered at the orphanage was already on a dark path; just because he took a right turn didn't mean he wouldn't take the left next time.

"So, how are we doing this?" asked Harry. "I mean, we're already invited, but do we go there with a plan or just go with the flow."

"Truth be told, no matter how good of a plan we come up with, there is absolutely no way of being one hundred percent that it will work," said Minerva sadly. "For one, you will be surrounded by a vast number of people, all purebloods, all there with a purpose, none of them would care about most of you, but there are some who will receive an unwanted amount of attention, like Hermione, Draco and probably Luna. Though all of you will seem suspicious considering the fact that no parents will be accompanied you."

"Miss Muller," interrupted Hermione. "Why would Draco and I be in any amount of attention? What's so interesting about us?"

It was Draco who answered her question. "Come on Herms, my case at least is quite easy to understand. For one, I'm Russian and therefore was raised in a country where purebloods still get the final say in matters and where the Dark Arts is at its best, something that most of the pureblood families from England strive to reintegrate in society; seriously, why do you think Voldemort was capable of becoming something more then a by-passing rebellious teen? That's because he offered the pureblood families what they wanted _and_ he was smart and powerful enough to achieve what he proposed."

"I knew that," Hermione snapped. "I know a lot more about history then you do!"

"True," Draco acknowledged with a curt nod. "But I know more about pureblood policies then you."

"Ok, mister wise guy. Then explain to me why would the pureblood families be interested in me?"

Draco gave Hermione a penetrating look, his face shrewd in a blank expression, but there was something in his eyes that assured Hermione the answer would not be to her liking.

"It's because of your name," he finally answered in a soft almost quivering voice.

Hermione gave him a questioned stare. "My name?" she asked slowly, a slight trail of disbelief clouding her question.

"Because the Watson family was…" Draco began in a clearly reluctant tone. "It is commonly know in our…what used to be our present time, that the Malfoys were the 6th most influential family in the wizarding world, the first being the Roseware, which was once considered the Royal family and number 3 to 5 were the other four families in which the descendants of said family married, or better said the Lords of the wizarding world. However there was a family that overshadowed in terms of fear and influence all of the other Lord Class family, those being the Watsons, commonly referred in the underworld as… the Executioners, or better said, the ones who did all the dirty work for the purebloods, the Royal family included."

Hermione and the rest of the occupants in the room glared disbelieved at Draco for a long time.

"You're kidding?" Hermione finally asked.

"I wish I were," Draco answered.

-------

It was spectacular! Malfoy Manor… the only place Draco would ever truly consider a home. Its height as imposing as ever, its beautiful gigantic windows ever sparkling, the paint on the walls looked as fresh as always. The mere sight of the Manor overloaded him with a strong sense of nostalgia the likes he had never seen before; and that's when he realized that he missed the life he had before Voldemort came to power and ruined it; granted he did have friends now, but at what price? His mother? His father? Ginny? Was it all worth it? Just for a couple of friends that you were never actually sure you could trust to be there for you? _No_, he decided, _it was not worth it, not at all_! He loved his life! He liked his so called _friends_! He liked it better that way, when he was the spoiled little brat of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy! And he sure as hell was not gonna let his future counterpart's life get ruined like his was! With that thought fixed in mind Draco marched up the marble steps of the manor determined to get what he wanted out of this night.

Hermione however was not so sure she would be able to get past this event in one piece and for good reasons. The conversation with Draco had unnerved her and placed her sensed on high alert. She was quite jumpy even at home, so for her sake, Draco and Harry had promised they'd never leave her side, but for some painfully obvious reason (if the annoying glee that settled in Hyperion's eyes, the moment he laid eyes on her, was anything to go by), she didn't think that would help much.

"Ah, Rowling, Ivanov and…_Watson_, welcome," Hyperion and Jane greeted them at the door. He was wearing a jet black suit with silver hangings and a matching silver tie. His fiancée Jane was dressed in an identical silver dress which had a V neckline (that reveal way too much in Hermione's opinion).

Jane took one look at Harry and immediately disentangled herself from Hyperion and enveloped Harry into a bear hug.

"Harry! It's so good to see you! How have you been?" She started bombarding him with millions of questions while dragging him towards the ballroom, leaving the other three behind.

Hyperion sighed. "You'll have to excuse my fiancée, the holidays really got to her this year. But please don't just stand there in the door way, make yourselves at home," he gestured towards the ballroom. Hermione and Draco nodded politely and hurried after Harry, and were horrified to discover the vast number of people that were present at the party.

"You have got to be kidding me," said Hermione in a sarcastic voice. "How are we going to find anyone in here?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," Draco said and struggled to look around the crowd. "I say we stay close to the entrance so we get to see when Luna and Hannah arrive."

"Do you think Riddle's already here?" Hermione asked.

"How should I know?"

"Then shouldn't we go looking for him? You know, in case he's here, and keep an eye on him."

"I suppose so," Draco said. "But what about the others?"

"They know the plan," Hermione whispered. "Riddle's our priority! If he's here we have to keep an eye on him, we'll meat the others at Muller Manor!"

"Fine, let's go," Draco said and the two of them started making their way towards the crowd.

------

"I am so glad you decided on wearing the tie I gave you," Jane said as she made her way through the crowd while dragging Harry along.

"Well, you did promise you'd strangle me if I wore something else, now didn't you," he asked with a slightly raised brow.

"I have my reasons," she assured. "There's something you just have to see," Jane said enthusiastically.

"Really? What?" Harry asked curiously.

"There," Jane came to a halt a few strides away from the balcony and pointed at a group of three girls, one dressed in a wavy red dress, the other in a chocolate-brown straight dress and the last…

"Virginia Parkinson," he whispered.

"Recognize the dress?" Jane asked in a conspirator tome.

"Is that the…?" He asked bewildered.

"Aha, it most certainly is," she assured with a triumphant tone to her voice. "The dress we bought in Hogsmead! The one you gave her for her birthday," she whispered in a taunting sort of tone.

"Wow, she's beautiful!"

-------

Virginia was happily chatting around with her friends while discretely scanning the crowd for a certain boy with unruly hair and green eyes. She unfortunately came across a face she hoped would just drop dead and be out of her hair for good, Orion Black. Sadly, good things never seemed to happen around her, she concluded when she saw Orion make his way towards her group.

She wouldn't show it but she was jumpy and uncomfortable every freaking time that person was within ten miles of her, and that had nothing to do with the fact that he liked her (it was painfully obvious that he did), no, she knew she was pretty and appreciated the attention, but going around spying on her and lets not forget that time when he actually touched her ass, for Merlin's knickers! That was going too far!

She knew then and there that she had to get herself a boyfriend, one with enough influence to stand up to the legendary Black family, and that's were Harry came in.

And that's when she finally managed to locate Harry. He was standing a few blocks away, arm in arm with Jane Seymour, the most influential woman in all of Slytherin house (the fact that she was Hyperion's girlfriend did little to aid that, if you took in account that she was the spoiled little brat of the Minister of Magic himself). She and Hyperion both were the unofficial rulers of Slytherin house, their word was practically law in there, and Orion Black just so happened to be part of the group of people that were taken under their wing, unfortunately for Orion, Jane didn't like him, but she did like Harry.

And there was the devil himself, Hyperion finally decided to join the crowd, and as per expected he grabbed Harry by the shoulder and started chatting with him and his girlfriend. It was official, he was part of their group, everyone noticed that as they turned their heads discretely in their direction, and not a few girls from second to third year started slowly making their way towards them. Virginia vaguely wonder if Harry actually knew what he was getting himself into, or more specifically, what this act of _friendship_ meant to Slytherins in general. But it didn't actually mater now did it, not with Black edging closer to her, and with her rivals trying to make their move on her pray.

"Sorry girls, but I have to go and say hi to one of my friends over there," she said to her acquaintances (the term _friend_ was a rarity in Slytherin house).

"Jane's little protégé?" Darla Thomson (third year Slytherin) asked.

"Yes that one," Virginia smirked proudly at her and left the group.

"Ginny! Great to see you! You look fantastic tonight," Jane commented the moment she saw her and let go of Harry's arm. "If you would excuse us, we have a few more guests who need out attention." She inclined her head slightly and left with Hyperion trailing behind her.

Virginia inwardly smirked. So it seemed there was some truth in the rumor that Harry liked her, or else Jane wouldn't have left his side in such a hurry.

"It's nice to see you Rowling," she said in the sweetest tone she could manage.

"Nice to see you too! Please, can call me Harry!" He was nervously fidgeting from one foot to the other and determined to avoid eye contact, and if that wasn't proof enough of his discomfort, then the nervousness in his voice was plenty.

"Then you may call me Ginny," Virginia said smiling softly at him and discretely turned towards her group of friends. Rosalie gave her an approving look before disappearing in the crowd alongside Abraxas Malfoy, but the thing that actually drew a triumphant smile on her face was the death-glare Orion was shooting at them. Jane was dragging him far away from Harry and her general direction, something which suited her perfectly.

"I'd…can I call you something else," Harry's apologetic voice drew her attention back towards him.

"You don't like the name?" Virginia asked perplexed.

"No, I like it, it's just that…my ex-girlfriend bore the same nickname," Harry answered clearly reluctant. It was hard even thinking about Ginny, let alone mentioning her.

"Oh." Whatever it was that she thought Harry would answer wasn't remotely related to that. For one, she would have never thought Harry had a girlfriend before (he just didn't seem the type), and that was a problem she was not at all glad to come across. An ex-girlfriend meant that she had expectations to surpass, certain standards to stand up to, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Was her name Virginia by any chance?" she asked stiffly and prayed that it wasn't because if it was… she didn't want to think about it, not now at least.

"No, her name was…Ginevra," Harry finally managed to say. Virginia mentally sighed in relief, one problem out of her hair, and it was plain obvious that Harry didn't like talking about his ex for whatever reason; which was perfectly fine with her.

"How about Gins then?" Virginia asked trying to stir the conversation away from his ex. Harry nodded curtly, but the expression on his face clearly said he didn't approve of the name, and for good reason, it was too similar to Ginny. "Tell you what; why don't you pick a nickname for me?" She suggested.

Harry's eyes shot up towards hers for the first time that evening; something which pleased Virginia immensely, because the one thing she liked the most about Harry was his eyes, Slytherin eyes.

"You wand me to pick a nickname for you?" Harry asked flabbergasted. She didn't like that, the boy was acting to much like a bloody Gryffindor for her taste, but she'd work her way around that problem after she got her hands on him.

"Of course, I wouldn't want you to feel discomforted," Virginia said earnestly. Truth be told, she never actually liked the name, but it was the first nickname that would automatically pop up to anyone she had met, so it had unfortunately stuck with her; and she distinctly remembered her brother (forth year Slytherin) telling her how he liked to pamper his girlfriend by giving her all kinds of nicknames.

"There's really no need to go to all that trouble for me," Harry said slightly flushed. Virginia had to suppress a frustrated growl. She couldn't believe this boy had managed to have a girlfriend with that attitude! She forced herself to smile reassuringly at him and said in a sweet tome:

"It wouldn't be a problem at all; in fact I'd be honored if you did, you see, I don't really like that name." _There! Now he should finally get what I'm talking about!_ Virginia hoped so at least, because it was really driving her up the walls, that ignorant attitude of his, she distantly wondered if he was faking it but soon dismissed the thought out of her head.

"Oh," was all Harry managed to say. He didn't actually understand why she would let people call her something she didn't like, but he supposed he wasn't one to talk, seeing as the Dursleys had called him _freak_ or _boy_ for years and he hadn't complained; but that was a different matter altogether.

"Such a beautiful girl does not have a nickname to her liking?" He didn't know from which part of his twisted mind that question had sprung to life and crawled its way out of his mouth without him noticing, but he felt horror struck by it.

Virginia's eyes flashed in satisfaction as her lips twitched in a down right smirk; maybe she could turn this shy and confused boy into a cunning Slytherin after all.

"Perhaps you could assist me in finding something to my _liking_?" She said in soft suggestive tone. She could work with this slightly teasing personality of his. "After all the dress you chose for me was most certainly to my liking."

In that very moment Harry hoped the ground beneath would give in and the earth would swallow him whole, his cheeks flashed a shameful crimson color and he distinctly wondered if he should back down from the challenge. _Hell no_! Draco and Riddle had been very bad influence on him because he heard himself say, again without thinking: "I'm glad it appealed to you, and I am positive that we can find a name worthy of your beauty." _Where did there things come from_?

"Most certainly," Virginia smiled sweetly at him and drew slightly closer, close enough to call it and invasion of personal space, not that Harry mined. "Anything on your mind?"

His mouth spoke ahead of him again. "Not at the moment, but maybe after I get acquainted with you, I'll have a better idea of what I'm looking for."

"How rude of me, to burden you with such an unfair task without considering our (cough), almost nonexistent relationship." Virginia smiled slightly and started playing with his tie, which she found out (to her delight), matched the dress that she was wearing perfectly. "Then let's start by getting to know each other first."

"Work's for me." _Hell, I'll be dead by the end of the night_, Harry thought, but as he continued starting into Virginia's beautiful blue eyes, he found that he didn't actually care as he felt a huge smile spread on his face.

--------

"Riddle, Professor Slughorn, I'm glad that you could finally make it," Hyperion Malfoy walked up to the pair and shock hands with them. "I was beginning to think you got lost in the floo or something."

"Nonsense by boy, I just had a hard time convincing the Headmaster to let me bring Tom along, but I finally managed to get pass that," Slughorn said grumpily.

"I feel terribly sorry for burdening you with such a task," Hyperion apologized. "I hope next year, Tom here will accept my invitation of spending the holidays at our Manor and spare you the unpleasantness." Hyperion shot a pointed look Tom's way, who in terms turn to glare at him.

"Has Daren Tunney arrived yet?" asked Slughorn. "He was an old student of mine, a very talented Quidditch player; he ended up laying chaser for the Chudley Cannons." Slughorn told Tom.

"Yes Professor, he's right over there by the balcony," Hyperion motioned towards the far corner where a group of men were talking.

"Ah, my old crowd," Slughorn said delighted.

"They have been anxiously awaited your arrival, sir," Hyperion said. Slughorn, looking positively delighted, thanked him and made his way towards the group of people.

"Come, I would like to introduce you to my father," Hyperion motioned for Tom to follow him. Tom glared at the other boy's retreating back but went along nonetheless.

_This should prove to be interesting_, Tom thought with a smirk as a tall, imposing person, with pale blond hair and cold gray eyes came in view.

"Mister Riddle," the person said. "My son has told me so much about you."


	19. Chapter 18: The Malfoy's New Year Party

**AN**: I now know that Cygnus Black married Druella Rosier, not Virginia Parkinson, but I wasn't aware of that at the time I started writing this fanfic, so you'll have to forgive my altering of events, but it's too late now to change that part.

**PS**: This chapter is a little darker then my usual ones, but the fic was always heading in this direction, so I hope you like it.

**Chapter 18: The Malfoy's New Year Party**

"_Mister Riddle," the person said. "My son has told me so much about you."_

"This is Cepheus Malfoy, my father," Hyperion announced proudly.

Standing before Tom was a tall man with cold gray eyes and pointed face. He looked like Hyperion's older-twin brother (if it was even possible to have something like that). Cepheus was wearing a blue suit with a matching cape and a cane that ended in a silver serpent head that looked ready to strike.

"It is an honor to finally meat you, sir," Tom shock hands with the Malfoy head.

There were four other people gathered around Malfoy Sr., one he recognized as being Sergey Yaxley, the bastard who had tried to kill Sirius. Tom noted with satisfaction that his right hand was bandaged and tied up to his neck, his mauve silk jacket was swung over his shoulder and partially covering the white fabric. The scowl that was firmly engraved on his feature told Tom that their past disagreement was still fresh on his memory.

The other three Tom did not know, but it appeared that he would be informed of their identities soon, as Malfoy stretched a hand towards a wavy haired, gray eyed individual with aristocratic features, and a proudly worn crest of two dogs surrounding a shield of sorts on his left shoulder.

"This is Arcturus Black," Malfoy senior introduced.

"A pleasure to meat you mister Riddle," the Black patriarch greeted with a slight incline of his head. Tom nodded politely.

"The pleasure is all mine."

The next to be introduced was a haughty person with a thin moustache which was curled around the corners.

"This is Aesop Lestrange."

The man stuck out a hand and promptly shock Tom's.

"Delighted, mister Riddle, my son has told me _so_ much about you," he gave a crooked smile.

"Has he now?" Tom asked curiously.

"Not to worry, my some speaks only the best of you," Lestrange was quick to assure.

"This person right here," Malfoy continued, pointing at a slim person with straw-blond colored hair and a skin so pale, you could almost confuse it with that of a ghost's. "Is Augustus Crouch."Crouch, too, shock Tom's hand.

"And this is-"

"There's no need for introductions," Yaxley said sharply. "We've already met!"

"Have we?" Tom faked ignorance.

"Come now mister Riddle, let us drop the pleasantries and pretense, it's a little late for that don't you think?" Yaxley asked in a sharp voice.

"I beg your pardon, but I honestly have no idea of what you're talking," Tom said with a straight face. He honestly didn't know what the man was playing at. Surely he wasn't about to reveal that Tom had been the one to raid his house and break his arm? These were not Aurors they were talking to, and as far as he knew, purebloods would more then likely turn against him after finding out about his humiliating defeat at the hand of a first year rather then show sympathy.

Anger made its way across Yaxley's face and in the matter of seconds, he had closed the distance between them and, with his good hand, took a firm grip of Tom's shirt, bringing him mere inches of his livid scowl. "You barge into my house and steal my merchandise, break my arm and now you think you have the right to play _dumb_ about the whole matter?"

_He's an idiot_, Tom concluded as he looked on impassively into the mad face of the other. He distinctly noticed that the surrounding purebloods were shooting him glares of discontent and disgust. It looked like Yaxley was soon to go out-of-business.

Yaxley gave a sudden yelp and retreated his hand from Tom's collar, pulling it protectively towards his chest.

"Honestly, _sir_," Tom said in an offended tone, and glared the elder man down with a cold look. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. You must have confused me with someone else," he added forcefully.

Anger boiled up in Yaxley once more and the old man spat out: "Oh, I'm sure-"

"You must have confused me with someone else!" Riddle hisses in a soft, but commanding voice which had Yaxley draw back in fright.

"I might have," Yaxley suddenly said, glaring confusedly out into space. "I can't remember… my brain seems a little bit fuzzy."

"I'm sure it is," Tom nodded satisfied with the answer.

"Well, now that the awkward moment has passed-" Malfoy began to say, but Tom promptly cut him off.

"I did not take you for a man who stands and watches when his _guest_ is being assaulted by another," the boy stated coldly. "I'm actually quite relieving to know that I made the right decision in not accepting your invitation to spend the holidays. Merlin knows the house elves could be such pests!"

The smile faded off Malfoy senior's face, and barely for a second, his discontent was there for all to see, then it was covered up fast and a forced smile took its place.

"I assure you, that such _quarrels_ do not happen often in my house," he said smiling, but the venom in his voice was unmistakable. "We Malfoys like to distinguish ourselves with our fine hospitality."

"Of course you do," Tom brushed it off in a rather bored fashion. "Now if you will excuse me, there is a friend I am most anxious to see." Stunning the respectful crowd silent, Tom took his leave, not waiting for a dismissal.

"You did not mention that your friend was rather rude," Cepheus reprimanded Hyperion when he recovered from the initial shock. "I hope he proves to have a better head on his shoulders the next time we meet!"

-OOOOO-

"Where in the world can Harry be?" Hermione wondered slightly impatient. She and Draco had been sneaking around the crowd, trying to avoid any person who might recognize her and stop to ask about her supposed grandfather Richard Watson (who was literally dead, but since no one knew, she preferred to keep it that way).

"I've spotted Hannah and Luna," Draco said. "Shall we make our way towards them?"

"Lets," Hermione nodded. They however doubled back and headed for the balcony instead when they caught sight of Jane Seymour making her way towards them.

"This is ridiculous! It's like they're purposely searching the crowd for me!" Hermione whined.

"Knowing them, they probably are," Draco said disgruntled. "They're probably anxious to hear about your dear old _Grandfather_ and his mysterious absence for almost 12 years."

"Well, that's not going to happen! And this is the last time I'm ever attending such a party!" Hermione swore.

"Actually you are going to be present at these types of events every year," Draco assured her. Hermione looked ready to disagree but the blond promptly cut any protests by saying: "You'll have to! If you don't, you'll look suspicious to the purebloods and they'll start investigating your grandfather, and believe me, it won't be so hard to find him. So let's just let buried bones lye and keep up the pretence!"

"I know, but I hate this," Hermione whined. "I hate having to-" she stopped suddenly, her eyes glued to a figure in the distant crowd.

"To what?" Draco asked, then turned to look at what had his friend so entrance. What he saw was not to his liking. "That pest!" he suddenly yelled startling Hermione. "I'll kill him!"

"What?" she asked slightly confused.

"Harry!" the blond said and turned his head away from the green-eyed boy. "The girl he is with is Virginia Parkinson, my grandmother!"

"Oh," said Hermione in lack of better words.

"I can't believe…of all the…he had to pick _her_!" Draco was shaking with anger and started spiting a whole arsenal of insults Harry's way.

"How can she be your grandmother when you were dating Parkinson?" Hermione asked.

"I wasn't dating Parkinson," the blond assured, "she just liked to hang around, and being my third cousin, the responsibility of taking care of her was bestowed upon me. Virginia is my mother's mother, she married Cygnus Black and had three children as you well know: Andromeda, Bellatrix and my mother."

"But, if Virginia loved your grandfather I'm sure she'll end up marrying him again," Hermione tried to reassure the boy, but her expression fell at the hard look that Draco sent her way.

"Parkinson didn't want to marry my grandfather," Draco said. "Their weeding was arranged, much like everyone else's in this time."

Hermione glared at him.

"What?" Draco asked confused. "Do you actually think that purebloods would have lasted this long if the bloody children were allowed to marry whoever they wanted?" he asked skeptically. "They would have ended up taking some Muggle or half-blood if they were left to the devices of their own mind. Young people never know what's good for them anyway."

"Is that you talking there or your father?" Hermione asked bitterly.

"Trust me, it's me talking here," Draco assured.

"You're a jackass!" Hermione said.

"To you, maybe," Draco conceded, "because you're a Muggle-born. You lived in a world far different then my own before coming here. And while this all may seem some fucked up mambo-jumbo to you, it makes perfect sense to me."

Hermione sent him and unladylike-scowl and opened her mouth, most probably to start arguing against his biased beliefs, but Draco, not feeling up for an argument, cut her off by asking:

"What about you? What has you so upset?"

"Me, upset?" Hermione asked laughing nervously. "I'm not upset about anything, I'm having a blast!"

"Of course you are," Draco said in a sarcastic tone.

Hermione sighed defeated as she threw another dejected look in Harry's direction and said: "I've always liked him, not just as a friend. He was...kind, and caring and always _there_! Unlike Ron," her face fell as she mentioned her deceased friend. "But he was crushing on Cho, and then Ginny, and...it felt kind of stupid to just sit around and wait for him to like me. I got...tired, so I started dating other people."

"In hopes of making him jealous?" Draco asked.

"Not really," Hermione admitted. "I just wanted to get over it, and I thought I did! But...when I saw him with Ginny, and now... it's not fair!"

"Life never is," Draco said in melancholic tone. "Take it from someone who knows."

Draco's features suddenly molded into a mischievous grin and he lifted up a hand to her while asking: "Want to dance?"

Hermione shot him a glare which clearly said she was not amused by his proposal.

"What for?" she asked moodily.

"Why, so we can make that pigeon-haired dunderhead jealous, of course," was Draco's reply.

"No," Hermione shock her head a fearful expression clouding her features.

"Wow, never thought I'd see the day in which you'd back down from a challenge," Draco shot her a disapproving glare. "Look at her!" he snapped startling Hermione. "What does she have that you don't? She's not as smart, lacking in any magical abilities and has quite a big nose if you ask me!"

"That's your grandmother you're insulting there," Hermione said slightly amused by his comment.

"Well I'm glad I didn't inherit her nose!" the blond huffed indignantly.

Hermione couldn't help herself as she burst into uncontrollable giggles, Draco was soon to join her.

"So," the blond said after he had composed himself. "What do you say?" he held out his hand once more.

"I..." Hermione looked torn between accepting his offer and bluntly refusing him.

"I know you want to," Draco taunted and Hermione felt her resolution faltering.

"The purebloods will see me," she said in a last attempt at convincing herself to decline the offer.

"A good friend of mine once said: What's life without a little risk," Draco quoted remembering Ginny's words as they discussed the reopening of the DA in their seventh year. "And she was damn right about it!" Draco gave her an encouraging wink and Hermione face broke into a smile as she pushed her fears aside and took the blonds offered hand. With her heart hammering wildly, but determined to get what she wanted out of tonight, Hermione stepped out of the balcony and headed towards the dance floor with Draco at her side.

Harry was close to having a nervous break down. He had, for the past half a' hour, tried, and almost failed, to dance with Virginia Parkinson, while trying hard not to step on her toes and keep a brilliant smile permanently plastered on his face, never mind talking (the girl had started her rant about some pureblood or another the moment they stepped on the dance floor and hadn't stopped once to take a breath).

"Danny!" the sweet, mother-like voice of Stephany Hays resounded in the crowd, and brought a true smile on Harry's face.

Harry broke lose from Virginia and they both turned to see the chocolate-haired, brown-eyed Auror dressed in a radiant-white gown rushing towards them with a disgruntled Tom Riddle at her side.

"It's so good to see you!" Stephany exclaimed upon reaching them.

"Good to see you too, Steph!" Harry said smiling widely at her. Riddle turned a cold glare on Parkinson, which had the girl mumbling some excuse and scurrying off to find some of her friends.

"Oh, wait," Stephany called after her. "We haven't even been introduced yet!"

"That was Virginia Parkinson," Harry said, scowling at Riddle.

"She's pretty," Steph remarked. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your date with such a pretty lady," she apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Harry quickly waved her concerns aside feeling a furious blush creep up his neck. "Anyway, how have you been Steph, had a nice Christmas break?"

"Oh, yes," Stephany nodded enthusiastically. "It was lovely! I was just telling Tom about that time when I went mountain climbing in the Alps, it wasn't exactly pleasant," she grimaced at the memory.

"Yes, and you were telling me about the new teacher," Tom reminded and Stephany nodded vigorously.

"Oh, yes, your new Occlumency and Legilimency teacher, since Mister Sebastian will be sent on some kind of mission at the start of the next fall and therefore won't be able to continue his lessons with you two. I spotted him in the crowd a few minutes ago and then Tommy and I started searching for you so I can go and introduce the both of you to him."

Stephany grabbed a hold of Harry's arm and said: "Come on, he's usually sulking in some corner at these kinds of events, trying hard to stay out of the public's eye."

"Why doesn't he just stay home?" Harry asked perplexed.

"Dunno," Stephany shrugged and then smiled as she exclaimed: "There he is! Mister Prince!"

Harry turned in the direction in which Stephany was leading them and nearly froze in place in utter shock. There standing secluded in a corner, with his eyes narrowed and his mouth twitched into a dawn right scowl was a face so familiar, that Harry nearly thought the man himself had risen from the dead to haunt him.

Jet-black hair, which looked like it hadn't been washed in weeks, wrapped up in a ponytail which reached down to his shoulders, dressed in onyx-black robes, and looking much like the overgrown bat he resembled so much, even the crooked nose and the yellow teeth!

_It's Severus Snape! It has to be_! Harry's brains reasoned. And he was screaming inside, praying to every god he knew that Stephany wasn't about to lead him to that particular nightmare, but his hopes dimmed with every step the cheerful angelic person took towards the demon incarnated in the flesh, and a sinking feeling overtook him as those dark holes settled upon him.

"Mister Prince," Stephany stopped right in front of him. "These are the boys I've been telling you about! Tom Riddle and Daniel Rowling!" she swung an arm around the two boys' shoulder and said: "Boys, this is Perseus Prince, your new Occlumency and Legilimency teacher!" she announced happily, and Harry nearly groaned out-loud then and there.

"It's nice to meat you sir," Riddle greeted politely. Harry merely managed to incline his head.

The person sneered at them in Severus-Snape-style and turned to give Stephany a disapproving scowl. "Honestly woman, do you have to be so formal, even with your bloody fiancé?" he snapped.

Harry's world might have just fallen on his head for all he knew, as he turned with a god-smacked expression to glare between Stephany's smiling face and the Snape-look-a-like's deep scowl in utter shock.

_How?_ He couldn't stop himself from wondering how was it possible for the ugly, bat-like bastard to score someone as cute and lovable as Stephany?

"So," Perseus's eyes flickered to the two boys held securely in Stephany's embrace. "I take it, you're supposed to be my new nightmares?" he gave a vicious snarl. "Mere first years," he chided disappointed. "It seems Shaklebolt has lost his spark."

"Don't be so rude, Perseus!" scolded Stephany. "Mister Shacklebolt hasn't lost any spark! The kids are truly worth it!"

"To you, every child is," he said disgruntled. "Well, we'll see your worth next year, won't we." He smiled nastily at them then he turned to Stephany. "Now that you've seen your _children_, may we leave this wretched place?"

"But, I'd like to see the boys' escorts to make sure they have a way of getting back home!" Stephany protested.

"Don't be ridiculous woman," snapped Perseus. "They're students not orphans! And I am sure their escorts are searching for them as we speak no need to worry ourselves with them!"

"But-" Stephany began protesting, however Tom chose to intervene.

"Don't worry miss Hays, we're in good hands!" he assured. "You needn't worry yourself about us! Please go with your, _fiancé_" he turned a disgusted look in Perseus's direction.

Perseus scowled at him.

"Are you sure?" asked Stephany kindly.

Tom turned to flash a brilliant smile in Stephany's direction and nodded. "We'll be ok!" he assured.

"Well, if you say so," Stephany seemed slightly uncertain.

"We're ok," Harry jumped in to assure, if only to get rid of the Snape-look-a-like.

"Well then, I'll se you kids at Hogwarts," Stephany said as she released the children and went to stand by Perseus Prince's side.

"Bye!" Stephany whispered then she and Perseus headed for the exit to the ballroom.

Harry let out a breath he didn't even know was holding.

_Man what a nightmare_, he thought grimacing.

"Insufferable bastard," Tom snapped the moment the two Aurors were out of sight.

"Wow, I'd never thought I'd see the day you insulted a teacher," Harry said after he managed to overcome the shock of hearing Riddle swear.

Tom turned an imperious look on him. "Like you weren't thinking the same thing?"

"Oh, I was," Harry assured. "But I wasn't the one who said it out-loud!" he shot back.

"So, who asked who to dance?" Riddle quizzed and inclined his head towards Virginia Parkinson.

Harry suddenly became very interested in the glittering Bohemian chandelier which was bedecked with tens of tiny little tear shaped crystals hanging high above their heads.

"Figures it had to be her," Riddle said mockingly. "And here I was thinking that you were more the Gryffindor type."

"The Gryffindor type?" Harry asked confused, and slightly worried.

"Your personality has always reminded me more of a Gryffindor rather then a Slytherin," Tom said. "You're easily the brashest among the whole house, you remain suspiciously clueless with regards to all the power play and political nonsense going on around you and frankly, I have yet to see an ounce of cunning from you."

Harry's legendary Gryffindor temper was rising up again, but there was also something mixed in the drill, a familiar emotion which Harry found himself often displaying in front of Riddle and all his housemates.

"Panic," Riddle said steeling the word right out of his mind.

"Excuse me?" Harry asked trying to sound confused and failing dramatically at it.

Tom turned his cold, calculative gaze on him, making Harry's gut convulse painfully.

Harry felt himself spin on the spot as a hand took a firm grip of his wrist and forced him forward towards the balcony.

"Tom, what..."

"Move!" Tom ordered. They reached the balcony and Tom pulled him behind the long silver curtains. Tom then moved the curtains back a little in order to be able to steal a glance at the ball room.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked noting Riddle's strange behavior. He peered over his shoulder trying to get a glimpse at what Riddle was looking.

"The Bouquet twins have been following me around all night," Riddle said shooting a peeved look in what Harry could now see was Luna and Hannah's direction.

The two girls were dressed in identical cardinal-red dresses; their hair was pulled back in a formal style, their arms linked tight around one another, with Demeter Greengrass babbling loudly on Luna's left while the two were _discretely_ scanning the crowd where Tom and Harry had been mere minutes ago.

Harry wanted to groan at the obvious distress on their faces.

"Considering the fact that they both have boyfriends, I'm rather inclined to dismiss the idea of them being a part of my fan-club," Riddle mussed, pointing in the direction of a group of girls which were also scanning the crowd where the two boys had been.

"Wow, not a year has passed and the great Tom Riddle already has a fan-club," Harry mocked.

"Yes, rather annoying, aren't they," Riddle mussed idly.

"Poor you! Afraid of some twelve-year-olds," Harry cooed drawing a scowl on Riddle's face.

"They're eleven and I am not afraid of them! They are simply too much of a menace," Riddle said sharply. "Unfortunately, it seems that the same thing can't be said for you, who is afraid of his entire house!"

"I am not afraid of my house!" Harry protested.

Riddle quirked an eyebrow at him. "Oh, really?"

"Why should I be afraid of them?" Harry challenged.

"I don't know," Riddle said flatly, then added almost as an afterthought: "You tell me?"

Harry was trying hard not to squirm under the scrutinizing gaze and look as calm as he best could while staring straight into those alluring black orbs. Tom Riddle might not have had the same overwhelming presence as Voldemort, but to Harry, right here and now, he was proving to be a greater menace then Voldemort had ever been.

After several seconds of tedious will battle, Riddle broke eye contact with him, with a distinctly pleased smile on his face and Harry wanted nothing more then to curse him. He knew he'd lost this battle, though he was unaware of what exactly he had done wrong, but the foul taste of grim defeat which had made it way in his senses once Riddle had looked away refuse to subside.

"Well, well, it seems that the Minister of Magic has joined the ball," Riddle commented, drawing Harry's attention.

"The minister?" He asked.

Riddle turned a disappointed look on him. "Allow me to enrichen that limited little world of yours," he said mockingly. "There at the entrance to the ball, the man in the gray suit with the red and blue ribbon tied around his fat belly, that's the Minister of Magic, Sigmund Seymour...well...the soon to be ex Minister of Magic that is," he added in a mischievous tone.

"Soon to be ex?" Harry asked confused.

"Are you that clueless?" snapped Riddle. "It's been the main issue in the Slytherin house for weeks! Please don't tell me that you are that ignorant as to have missed it all?" Harry threw him a blank look. "You are that ignorant aren't you?"Riddle sighed in frustration.

"Well excuse me for not giving a damn about other people's business!" Harry snapped.

Riddle raised an incredulous eyebrow, which made Harry feel all the more uncomfortable about his cluelessness. "Do you, at the very least, know the principle on which the Slytherin house functions?" Riddle asked in a mocking tone, not even bothering to hide his disappointment. "Don't bother to answer that. It's rather obvious that you don't. It's-"

"Power!" Harry cut him off, not being able to stand making himself a fool in front of Riddle.

"What a horribly erroneous answer," Riddle chided. "If you truly wish to not make a bigger fool of yourself than you already have, put that stupid pride of yours to the side for one second and listen to what people have to say!"

Harry shut his mouth with a bang, as he felt his cheeks burn hot red with embarrassment, while Tom smirked, looking very satisfied with himself.

"It's information," Tom said, confusing Harry.

"Information?"

"Yes, information," Tom reiterated. "But not just any type of information, but a small dose of information on people with high political status. Something that you can use to bargain in exchange for personal favors. Something that could help you impose your personal opinion onto them, and, by extension, on their circle of influence. You see, that's why every time there's a rumor floating around Hogwarts Slytherins try to find out every little aspect about it. Because information means influence, and influence is power."

"If you have power, as in, a lot of money, you can buy a lot of people. But, if you have information, and therefore, influence over a group of those people, well, you'll end up getting the same result cheaper. Because money is exhaustible, it can't last forever, and it most certainly won't last if you end up spending it recklessly on meaningless things which you could have gotten for free if you had just paid attention. And as soon as the money dries out, so does your influence, and your _power_ in the respective circle that you wish to dominate. See, money is only useful as long as you know how and when to spend it. If you recklessly throw it around, you'll eventually run out."

"The same can be said for power, as in brute force. I'm thinking you were referring to intimidation, or admiration, idolatry, something around the line?" Riddle quarried, and Harry nodded, looking very much like a helpless child who was asked to convert water into air. "That could also be of little use, if you have no idea how to handle it. There is only so much that threats of bodily harm can achieve, especially in the civilized society where people need only tell an authority figure to make you stop. Admiration and idolatry only work against the weak-hearted, and while that most certainly can guarantee you a certain amount of influence, against a skilled player you'd always be second best. People's expectations run high, and it's not always a certainty that you can fulfill them. And when you do reach that point, that's when you fall of your pedestal. It won't be a soft landing either, which is why you always have to have a back-up plan, in case the main one fails. You always have to have some leverage, some cards left to play, or else you'll fall. So, in the end, it all comes back to information, to _influence_, not power!"

"Like blackmail?" Harry asked.

"Blackmail works for a while," Riddle conceded. "But what you must take note is that, a person threatened, especially a Slytherin, will find a way to get even. And when that happens - and trust me, it always does - if you don't have a reserved plan to fall back onto, you're done for."

"I'm seriously confused right now," Harry said, getting tired of trying to guess at where Riddle was going.

"Obviously you are," Riddle shot back condescendingly. "With a brain as small as yours I'm surprised you could keep up for so long."

Harry scowled at him.

Riddle smirked.

"Well then," Harry began in a sarcastic tone. "By all means, _oh great one_, enlighten me!"

Riddle considered him for a moment, and then shock his head.

"I don't think I shall. I've already given you enough information for one night. Why don't you figure out the rest on your own," he encouraged.

"You talk some pretty words," Harry said, irritably. "And I think that's all you are!"

"Excuse me?" Riddle asked looking offended.

"You're eleven!" Harry snapped at him.

"Twelve, as of tonight!"Riddle corrected.

"Oh! Happy Birthday," Harry wished brusquely and returned to the main topic. "As I was saying. You're twelve! Barely old enough to grasp a bit of how this world works, yet you sprout out nonsense about kids playing elaborate mind-games with one another, and that's all nice and dandy, except I know these people! I've been living in the same house as you, and aside from a few seventh years, I doubt any of them would live up to your standards."

"That's because you're so easy to manipulate," Riddle said bored.

"Or, maybe it's just you," Harry insisted looking aggravated. "Maybe you're the only one who's playing these intricate games, and maybe you're the only played."

"Ah, if only it were so," Riddle lamented. "Life would be a lot easier."

"Prove it then!" Harry snapped.

"Fine."

That one simple work, was about to shake Harry's whole view on the world.

Riddle lifted a finger, and pointed straight towards Jane Seymour.

"Let's start with her," Riddle said while giving Harry a devilish smile. "Shall we?"

"Jane?" Harry looked confused. "What does Jane have to do with anything you've just said?"

"Everything," said Riddle. "What did I tell you earlier? Jane's father is the Minister of Magic, which is why such a talentless airhead such as her could score such a first-class fiancé like Hyperion and hold such influence in Slytherin to begin with. Haven't you noticed that most people in the house are vying for her favor?"

"Yes, but that's just some people!"

"Hmm, so you do have brains," Riddle remarked. Harry scowled. Riddle shrugged and carried on.

"You're absolutely right about that. People stopped wasting their time with Jane when her father fell out of favor with the Wizengamot after that horrible cover up of the missing children case."

"The what now?" Harry asked.

Riddle looked like he wanted to slap him.

"Come on! It was the main topic of discussion in Slytherin for months! The mysterious kidnappings of children? There was one taken from Hogsmeade!"

"I know about that!" Harry snapped looking indignant. "I just don't know what that has to do with Jane's dad."

"Jane's dad made the mistake of voicing his lack of interest in the people's suffering, which won him more than half of the Wizengamots' resentment. And, in order to become Minister, you need more than 50% of the voters on your side. Given how little time he has to correct his wrongdoings before the next election starts, he's just as good as out of the race."

"Okay," Harry nodded looking slightly confused. "But, what does this have to do with me?"

"You're the new rising star of Slytherin, alongside me. Most of the Teachers are expecting great things from you, and the students aren't blind to your phenomenal achievements for a first year. You've earned the respect and admiration of not only your fellow year mates, but also most of the seniors and the students from other houses. Students who have a parent on the Wizengamot committee get regaled with stories about this new uprising star by their dear children, the same boy who Jane has turned into her personal poster boy. Why else do you think she was flaunting you about earlier?"

Harry suddenly felt sick.

"I don't believe you!" He said furiously. "Jane is not a bad person!"

"She most definitely is!" Riddle insisted. "She might be your friend, but that will last only as long as you're of use to her. At the end of the day, this is all just one big power-play. And you're the only one who's being played. So, I suggest you either get smart, or get lost, because next time, I might not be so inclined as to give you a heads-up."

Harry had gone white as chalk, and his hands had balled into fists. Riddle was lying! That was the easiest solution. He loved playing with people, and it was no secret that he loathed Harry, so why should he believe the bastard.

"Jane is my fried!" Harry insisted.

Riddle shrugged nonchalantly.

"If you say so…"

Harry was about to protest some more, but Riddle's attention had drifted back towards the Ball Room, so Harry turned his gaze towards the entrance, where Jane and Hyperion were greeting and old, fat looking man dressed in fine silk who was flaunting too many jewels to be considered in good taste.

"Who is that?" Harry asked.

"Judging by the high quality clothes and obsessive amount of jewels, I'd say that is the famous Baron of Wilmore. The only wizard alive who has lands even in the Muggle world. Granted, the Muggled don't think much of him, but in the wizarding world, he's the head of the third most influential family alive."

_Second_, though Harry. _Seeing as the Watsons have been under the radar for so many years. _Harry was feeling rather smug for finally knowing something that Riddle didn't, and was about to impart his knowledge with him, but Riddle managed to surprise him again by saying:

"He's also a Pedophile."

It took a few minutes for Harry to recover from that one.

"What? Why would you say that?"

"He's got Jane Seymour and her large cleavage right at his nose, and yet he's been spending the last few minutes only partially listening to Hyperion and the Minister blab at him, while he's dedicating his full attention to eyeing Rosalie Damon and even the Bouquet Twins' backsides." Riddle said disgusted. "At the very least he's not into little boys. Considering how desperate the Malfoys and Seymours are for support, I would not have foreseen good things for Abraxas's future if things took a turn for the worse."

I took a while for Harry to grasp the meaning of Riddle's last words, but when he did, he suddenly felt very sick.

"Too slow," Riddle tusked looking displeased. "I'm suspecting Jane has something special planed for the old goat this evening."

"You think she'd going to try and win him over to her father's side?" Harry asked.

"Ah! Finally! A spark of intelligence from you!" Riddle said sounding surprised.

"I'm not dumb!" Harry snapped.

"You could have fooled me."

"And I don't think Jane is planning anything!"

"My mistake," Riddle said looking quite bored. "You're an idiot!"

"I'll prove it!" Harry said.

A spark of interest suddenly lit up Riddle's eyes.

"You mean to follow them?" Riddle asked tauntingly and pointed towards the entrance to the ballroom where Jane had linked arms with the Baron and was guiding him towards the lobby.

Harry was suddenly nervous.

Should he follow them? He wasn't quite sure he'd like what he found, because after all, Jane was a Slytherin. What if Riddle was right and she was planning something? Dare he follow?

"I knew you couldn't, you coward!"

"Oh yes I can!" Harry snapped going pink in the face and snuck out from the balcony. Riddle followed closely behind him. Harry had half a mind to turn and throw a few well earned profanities his way, but he figured he could do that after he proved to the smug bastard that Jane was a good person. So what if she was guiding the head of one of the oldest and most influential families away from the party? Maybe she just wanted to talk to him on behalf of her father! It didn't mean she was a bad person! She just wasn't!

-OOOOO-

It wasn't looking too good for Harry's theory.

Jane had brought the Barron to a room on the second floor, and she'd been stuck inside with him for the last 20 something minutes. A privacy spell was cast on the room, so even from the room right next to it, they couldn't hear anything. And Harry was getting anxious.

"You know," Harry began in a small, defeated voice. "Maybe we should head back. I'm betting people will start to notice our absence."

"A bunch of first years loosing themselves in the crowd? Trust me, unless the whole crowd is looking for you, it's most like that no one will notice, or care for that matter."

"Ouch! Don't you care what people think of you?"

"Not really," Riddle answered looking bored. "One way or another people are like to think the worse of you no matter what you do, so why bother? Beside the real action is taking place right in the next room."

_Click_

The sound of the window unlocking drew Harry's attention.

"What are you doing there?" Harry asked panicking as Riddle climbed the ledge of the window. "Get back here!"

"Shush!" Riddle snapped. "Or do you want to announce our presence to Jane and the Baron?"

Riddle stepped out onto the ledge and jumped over to the other side, and Harry nearly had a heart attack in his hast to try and reach him in time.

"Ridd-"

Tom swiftly covered his mouth with his had and raised a finger to his lips as a warning for Harry to keep silent. Harry realized that Riddle was standing on a balcony that stretched for the entire length of the manor. Riddle grabbed his shoulder and pulled him onto the balcony, and together, they made their way towards the window from the room where Jane and the Baron were.

The first thing Harry noticed was the predatory glee in Jane's eyes. The second thing was the hunger in the Baron's gaze and the third and arguably the worse thing was the frail trembling figure of a small girl lying with her hands bound behind her back on the cold wooden floor, shaking with her eyes downcast.

"What is going on here?" Harry asked numbly.

Jane and the Baron were still exchanging some pleasantries, which were terrifying the girl bound on the floor al the more, as her shaking became more violent.

"Told you he's a pedophile," Tom remarked, and pulled him away from the balcony. "Come on! Let's get back to the party."

"No!" Harry snapped wrenching free from Riddle's grip. "We have to save her!"

"Are you mad?" Riddle asked glaring at him with disbelief. "Those are two of the most influential people in the world out there. We can't just barge in there and take the girl. We'd never make it out!"

"So, we're just gonna leave her?" Harry asked outraged by the ordeal.

"Shh!" Riddle warned. "Lower your voice! And yes, we are going to leave her! She is none of our concern! For all we know, she might even be here of her own volition."

"I think the fact that she needs to be bound to stay in place is testament enough that she's not!"

Harry turned back towards the window.

"What are you doing?" Riddle asked grabbing a hold of him.

"I'm going to save the girl!" Harry snapped. "So let go of me!"

"You're insane if you think you can get out of this unscratched!" Riddle warned.

"I'm not leaving her there!" Harry threatened.

There argument came to a sudden halt as a tiny squeamish voice came from the room in front of them.

"Please! Father did not mean it! He will never cross you again! You have my word, so please! Just let me go!"

It was coming from inside the room.

"What the hell?" Riddle asked looking perplexed.

"Why can we here what they're saying?" Harry asked just as confused.

"Will he now?" A gruff guttural voice which Harry presumed belong to the Baron was heard from within the room.

"She must have canceled the silencing spell," Riddle guessed. "Why would she do that?"

"Who cares!" Harry snapped. "We need to save the girl!"

"Yes! Please! He's learned his lesson!" The girl pleased and Harry suddenly burst into the room.

The Baron turned his black beadle eyes on him.

"What is the meaning of this?" He roared looking outraged.

Harry darted for the girl, while Riddle walked calmly behind him and said:

"We're here to save your reputation, sir."

Harry was stuck glaring at Tom, as he pulled the girl behind him.

The Baron regaled him with a skeptic look.

"It would seam more to me like you're here to ruin my fun!"

"Not if you count this," Riddle reached under the drawer and pulled out a crystal ball, which Harry thought resembled the ones they used in Divination, but this one was a little different, smokier.

"A recording crystal," the Baron said distastefully.

"In case the first plan didn't work," Riddle mumbled. "The privacy wards have been deactivated. I'm guessing Jane was hoping someone would hear all the commotion and walk in on you, sir."

The Baron pulled out his wand and after a few waves swore. "That little harpy!"

"I'm guessing the girl's probably a Muggle, polyjuiced and brainwashed into saying whatever you'd be inclined to hear. My colleague would kindly take her off your hands," Riddle motioned for Harry to go, and Harry ran from the room with the girl in toe.

After Harry left the Baron and Riddle took a moment to asses each other. The Baron held out a hand and Tom handed him the recording crystal.

"Tom Riddle, I presume," the Baron said and waved his wand over the crystal, shattering it in one go.

"You've hear of me?" Riddle asked surprised.

"Everyone with some connections in the Ministry has heard of you and young Mister Rowling."

"Well, the Aurors do love to chitchat." Riddle grimaced.

"Yes, as they also love to point out that you are the smartest of the two. So, tell me, Mister Riddle, what brings you here? And, if you're as smart as they say you are, then you'll have the common sense not to lie to me!"

"I have no need to lie," Riddle said lightly. "I'm here because I was stupid enough to tell my friend that he was being played a fool by Jane, and he wanted to prove me wrong, so we ended up following her here. Suffice to say the whole thing blew up in his face, and he being the Gryffindor that he is, wanted to save the poor distressed girl. I ended up dragged in the middle of it. So, here I am."

"And yet, you knew where the recording Crystal was."

"It was visible from the other side of the window, where Harry and I had hid. I'm quite certain Harry's one tracked mind had him ignore any other detail than the bound girl on the floor. I am not so easily distracted."

"Why help me?" The Baron asked.

"Why not?" Tom replied.

"You mean to tell me you have no ulterior motive to help the second most influential man in all of England? Don't take me for a fool boy! Even if someone had walked in on me, my reputation would have little to suffer. Tape or not, the only thing the Seymours would have gotten out of this endeavor would be my wrath. But you, you've helped me avoid a scandal, no matter how insignificant, and you're expecting me to believe you don't want something?"

Tom shrugged. "I just want to make friends."

The Baron chuckled slightly while shaking his head. "I'll give that to old Shacklebolt he did not exaggerate. You're pretty smart for your age. And it's just your luck that I am in dire need of a friend like you."

"Oh?" Tom raised an enquiring eyebrow. "Do tell!"

The Baron smile and beckoned him closed.

-OOOOO-

Tom found Harry sulking on the steps to the entrance of the Manor.

"I had my house elf take the girl home," Harry said when Riddle sat himself beside him.

"Dashing party," Riddle exclaimed. "I heard next year will be even better. The Baskervilles are the ones organizing the party."

"Baskervilles? Never heard of them," Harry remarked not really interested in chit-chatting.

"Leon Baskerville," Riddle said. "He's a sixth year Ravenclaw."

"I want to leave." Harry said, rising suddenly.

"Without saying Good-Bye to your host? Rather ill mannered of you!" Riddle chided.

"I don't care!" Harry snapped. "I don't think I can stomach seeing her right now. Not after what she did to Rachel."

"Rachel?" Riddle asked.

"That's the name of the girl," Harry told him. "The one you helped me save. Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Riddle shrugged and sat up. "And you should really get back inside. Else you're gonna regret it."

"Regret what?" Harry asked fixing Riddle with a suspicious look.

A sudden scream was heard from inside, and Riddle just flashed him a mysterious smile before walking back into the Manor. Harry bolted after him.

-OOOOO-

Hermione was actually starting to like the party. All her worries had washed away, and she was enjoying her dance with Draco, when Hyperion Malfoy arrived on the scene.

"May I?"

He was all charms and mannerisms as he carefully cut in between her and Draco and expertly stirred her away from her friend and only protector.

"It's a lovely party," Hermione decided to initiate the talk hoping to stall for time, but Hyperion would have none of that.

"Yes, and I'm surprised your Grandfather would let you attend this party alone."

"Don't you mean my parents?" Hermione asked pleasantly.

"No, I mean your grandfather." He answered in just as pleasant a tone. "Tell me, how is dear old Richard Watson?"

"You're not even gonna be subtle about it?" Hermione sigh feeling quite annoyed with him.

"I don't see the point," Hyperion shrugged. "Are you going to keep dodging my questions?" He raised a challenging brow.

"I'm afraid so," she smiled sweetly at him.

A sudden commotion to their left drew their attention. The music suddenly stopped and the people all around turned towards the cause of the tumult.

"Someone get a doctor!" Orion Black was screaming and throwing worried looks to the shaking figure of Jane Seymour, who was sprawled on the floor and struggling to breathe.

"She's choking!" Stuwey Griffin, who was cradling Jane in his arms, cried out. "Someone please help her!"

"Jane?" Hyperion disentangled himself from Hermione and rushed over towards his fiancé. "Jane!" Hyperion fell beside her and took Jane from Stuwey's arms. "Jane, love, what's wrong?" He shouted his voice growing anxious by the minute as Jane trashed violently in his arms, hands desperately clawing at her throat.

"I'm a doctor!" someone in the crowd shouted just as Jane's father entered the hall with Cerpeus Malfoy in toe, screaming to see his daughter.

"That's my girl! Get out of my way! That's my baby girl!"

Hermione was paralyzed with fear as her gaze refused to leave the dying girl's face, and she took in everything. The agony written on her face, the sweat falling from her brows, her hands scratching violently against her neck leaving angry red marks against the pale white skin. She felt sick.

"Hermione!"

And suddenly Draco was there, wrapping one arm around her trembling form and pulling her from the grisly sight.

"Jane?"

She distinctly heard Harry calling Jane's name, mingled with her fathers desperate please, and Hyperion's broken cry.

"She's not moving! Doctor she's not moving! Do something!"


End file.
